Mixture and Chemical Combination: And Related Essays (Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science, 223)

Much of Duhem's work as a professional scientist was closely related to the newly emerging discipline of physical chemistry. The book and associated papers translated here revolve around his concomitant philosophical and historical interests in chemistry-topics largely uncovered by Duhem's writings hitherto available in English. He understood contemporary concerns of chemists to be a development of the ancient dispute over the nature of mixture. Having developed his historical account from distinctions drawn from the atomists and Aristotelians of antiquity, he places his own views of chemical combination squarely within the Aristotelian tradition. Apart from illuminating Duhem's own work, it is of interest to see how the ancient dispute can be related to modern science by someone competent to make such comparisons. The book is lucid and logically stringent without assuming any particular mathematical prerequisites, and provides a masterly statement of an important line of nineteenth century thought which is of interest in its own right as well as providing insight into Duhem's broader philosophical views. Audience: This volume is of interest to Duhem scholars, philosophers of science and chemists with an interest in philosophy. Front Matter....Pages i-2 Front Matter....Pages 3-3 Mixts According to the Atomists and According to the Peripatetics....Pages 5-8 The Notion of a Mixt in the Seventeenth Century....Pages 9-16 The Notion of a Mixt in the Eighteenth Century up to the Chemical Revolution: The Newtonian School....Pages 17-21 The Notion of a Mixt in the Eighteenth Century Up to the Chemical Revolution: The Empiricist School....Pages 22-28 Front Matter....Pages 29-29 Simple Substances....Pages 31-33 The Law of Definite Proportions....Pages 34-42 Crude Chemical Formulas and Equivalent Masses....Pages 43-56 Chemical Substitution....Pages 57-61 Chemical Types....Pages 62-67 Condensed Types, Valency and Developed Formulas....Pages 68-77 Isomers and Stereochemistry....Pages 78-84 The Atomic Theory: Critique of this Theory....Pages 85-94 Chemical Mechanics: First Attempts....Pages 95-106 Chemical Mechanics Based on Thermodynamics....Pages 107-113 Conclusion....Pages 114-118 Front Matter....Pages 119-119 Theories of Heat....Pages 121-191 The Evolution of Physical Theories From the Seventeenth Century to Our Day....Pages 193-213 Thermochemistry: In Connection with a Recent Book of Marcelin Berthelot....Pages 215-234 The Phase Law, in Connection with a Recent Book of Wilder D. Bancroft....Pages 235-251 A New Science: Physical Chemistry....Pages 253-276 Front Matter....Pages 119-119 The Work of J. H. Van ’t Hoff, In Connection with a Recent Book....Pages 277-290 On Some Recent Extensions of Statics and Dynamics....Pages 291-309 On Bodies and Mixtures or Combinations....Pages 311-313 Back Matter....Pages 315-322

Much of Duhem's work as a professional scientist was closely related to the newly emerging discipline of physical chemistry. The book and associated papers translated here revolve around his concomitant philosophical and historical interests in chemistry-topics largely uncovered by Duhem's writings hitherto available in English. He understood contemporary concerns of chemists to be a development of the ancient dispute over the nature of mixture. Having developed his historical account from distinctions drawn from the atomists and Aristotelians of antiquity, he places his own views of chemical combination squarely within the Aristotelian tradition. Apart from illuminating Duhem's own work, it is of interest to see how the ancient dispute can be related to modern science by someone competent to make such comparisons. The book is lucid and logically stringent without assuming any particular mathematical prerequisites, and provides a masterly statement of an important line of nineteenth century thought which is of interest in its own right as well as providing insight into Duhem's broader philosophical views.