The limits of Chemistry: how William Gregory contested the boundaries of ‘established science’, 1820–1850

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the controversial career of William Gregory (1803–1858). As a chemistry professor and chemical author, Gregory made many attempts to redefine the bounds of chemical science to incorporate mesmerism, phrenology and animal magnetism. I use a series of letters between Gregory and the prominent phrenologist George Combe to highlight the fact that the definition of ‘established science’ and its disciplinary boundaries were matters that occupied the thoughts and affected the careers of both men. Gregory maintained his reputation as a chemist while simultaneously being ridiculed for his public promotion of phrenology, mesmerism and animal magnetism. Where previous scholarship has tended to separate Gregory's chemical work from his support for disputed phenomena, this paper aims to prove that, for Gregory and his contemporaries, work on mesmerism, animal magnetism and phrenology was methodologically inseparable from chemical work. Gregory argued that all facts and theories should be judged and debated using the same criteria for credibility, accuracy, scepticism and rigour. He and others pushed to include contested phenomena within the boundaries of science to ensure that the facts, controversies and theories relating to them could be subjected to the same rigorous investigation and legitimate debates as were expected of chemical facts and theories.