Abstract
Paracelsus was an adventurer in more than one way. We retrace the little that is known
about his life and then focus on his adventures in the history of ideas, namely the
scientific revolution he brought about for humoral pathology. Following the landmark
study of Pagel (1982) we identify two of his conceptions of disease: diseases as fruits
and diseases as minerals, discovered by a new science, a “scientia separationis”.
Paracelsus did not merely polemize against humoral pathology, but offered a new world
view, a new paradigm, so that his endeavor can be characterized with Kuhn (1962) as
a scientific revolution.
Nicht die falsche Mischung der Körpersäfte macht den Menschen krank – diese Erkenntnis
des Paracelsus hat die Medizin verändert. Er war Vieles – Arzt, Alchemist, Philosoph,
Laienprediger, Theologe, Gesellschaftskritiker, vor allem aber ein „genialer Vagabund“,
bewundert und verachtet, ruhelos im Leben und widersprüchlich in seiner Lehre. Seine
wissenschaftliche Revolution ist vielleicht eines der „merkwürdigsten Abenteuer der
Ideengeschichte“ [1].
Schlüsselwörter
Paracelsus - Humoralpathologie - Krankheitsbegriffe - Wissenschaftliche Revolution
Key words
Paracelsus - humoral pathology - concepts of disease - scientific revolution
