Caloric in the History of Chemistry and Coleridge’s “Desynonymization”

Abstract

Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s philosophy in the 1810s and beyond is generally characterized by its dynamic and organic system of thought that transcends the limited scope of the eighteenth-century materialism. His chief source of inspiration is German natural philosophy and idealism, particularly in his attempts to establish the dialectical mode of thought that simultaneously allows for analytical understanding and holistic intuition. However, when it comes to the procedure of argumentation, Coleridge makes a consistent claim for the importance of “desynonymization,” a method for distinguishing the meanings of two words that have been used confusingly or ambiguously, thereby facilitating appropriate dialectical thought.

  While “desynonymization” is considered to be a linguistic version of idealistic thought apparent in his later career, Coleridge’s early notebooks reveal that it actually has its roots in his philological interests dating back to the early 1800s. It’s worth noting that these interests were closely intertwined with another contemporary discourse of science: chemistry. The engagement of Lavoisier and other chemists in reforming chemical nomenclature since 1790s, particularly their discussion of the debatable “caloric” within the newly defined concept of an “element,” provides Coleridge with linguistic materials for considering how to establish a philosophical system of language by “desynonymizing” the ambiguous vocabulary of common language.

  This paper examines how the chemical discourse of the time influenced Coleridge’s “desynonymization.” First, it investigates how, from around 1804 to 1810, he consciously engaged in distinguishing a phenomenon and its cause (like heat and caloric) based on a Lavoisierian “operational” concept of elements, often drawing on chemical imagery including Humphry Davy’s experiments in electrolysis. Next, the paper discusses how after the late 1810s Coleridge shifts his focus away from operational definitions of elements toward exploring them as some fundamental principles of phenomena and reinterpreting them as Platonic ideas. In this context, his reflections on “caloric” serve as an indicator of how the chemical discourse contributed to the development of Coleridge’s linguistic practice into his later idealistic dialectics.