THE COMMUNAL CONTEXT FOR GEOFFROY,ETIENNE,FRANCOIS TABLE DES RAPPORTS

Etienne-Francois Geoffroy's Table des Rapports is generally regarded a s a landmark in the evolution of chemistry during the eighteenth centu ry. Issues have arisen among historians concerning the significance an d originality of the Table that require fuller attention to the immedi ate context of chemical research in the Academie des sciences during t he two decades that preceded its appearance. The present paper argues that, despite the transition from communal to individual research proj ects that marked the reorganization of the Academy in 1699, chemists c ontinued to pursue shared problems within a communal ethos. The intera ctions between Wilhelm Homberg, Etienne-Francois Geoffroy, and Louis L emery were particularly prominent. The paper traces one example of thi s interaction, involving the sulfur principle and its influence on one entry in Geoffroy's Table. Further such studies are needed to elucida te the relation between the concepts of chemical composition and react ions implied in Geoffroy's table and the concepts embodied in the prev ious work of Geoffroy and his associates in the Academy.