Introduction: Computational Approaches to the Histories of Alchemy and Chemistry

The promise of computational methods opens new epistemic horizons. Yet, as we discuss in this introduction to the special issue on computational approaches to the histories of alchemy and chemistry, it also brings new epistemic responsibilities. We situate this work within a broader digital and computational history, exploring its relationship with earlier traditions of quantitative history as well as with developments in digital humanities and computational humanities. We distinguish between digital, computational, algorithmic, and AI-driven approaches and we clarify methodological and epistemological concerns that keep the historian firmly in the loop. Claims about computational methods often imply that they enable entirely new modes of inquiry. Yet such sweeping claims can also obscure the limitations and conditions under which these methods operate. This introduction therefore explores both the opportunities and the constraints of computational approaches that more celebratory accounts sometimes overlook. It introduces the individual contributions to the special issue and concludes with a call for responsibility in the adoption of computational methods. We argue for making the histories of alchemy and chemistry more critical, global, and reflexive, while remaining attentive to the assumptions, limitations, and implications of the computational tools we employ.