Paper short abstract:

Pesticides are asked to be a remedial poison but not a poisonous remedy - to explore this paradox I trace the legacy of Paracelsian chemistry on modern toxicology and agrochemical politics.

Paper long abstract:

As with many hazardous materials, pesticides are subject to extensive testing during their development and use to ascertain levels of human and environmental risk. Pesticide toxicology is driven by the assumption that a perfect dose can be identified and quantified - a dose that exists as a remedial poison but not a poisonous remedy. This belief can be traced back to the alchemical philosophy of Paracelsus, a 15th century scholar, who coined the phrase 'the dose makes the poison.' In this paper I will try to unravel some of the scientific and moral paradoxes and underpinnings contained in Paracelsus' teaching, and how it shapes the rhetorical claims of those in support of or against pesticides today, who routinely invoke the Paracelsian spirit when arguing their case.