I think the theory of ‘Phlogiston’ was a good first effort and is certainly more realistic than suggesting that a disembodied theistic entity is controlling everything ‘from afar’ just as an act of arbitrary will! This theory even covered the human-breath – which was ‘hot’ because ‘Phlogiston’ was being ‘breathed-out’! If not enough ‘Phlogiston’ was breathed-out – then the human body would literally ‘burn-up’ and a fever would develop! Of course, modern Chemistry has replaced Alchemy and has long since washed away virtually all of the original foundation that once formed the bulwark of human logic in the face of theological domination. It is now understood that when substances ‘burn’ – nothing is ‘given-up’ – but rather a chemical reaction is experienced. Combustion is a chemical reaction that rapidly combines various substances with oxygen – generating heat and light in the form of a flame as a useful by-product. Whereas the ‘inverted’ thinking of religiosity was inadvertently retained through the theory of ‘Phlogiston’ (i.e., ‘something is lost’) – the non-inverted reality regarding the correct scientific interpretation of combustion – is that ‘something is gained’! This demonstrates just how powerful outdated or outmoded systems of thought are – even if it is believed that certain approaches to understanding reality have been firmly rejected and left in the past.
