Philosophy of Chemistry: Growth of a New Discipline (Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science Book 306)

This volume follows the successful book, which has helped to introduce and spread the Philosophy of Chemistry to a wider audience of philosophers, historians, science educators as well as chemists, physicists and biologists. The introduction summarizes the way in which the field has developed in the ten years since the previous volume was conceived and introduces several new authors who did not contribute to the first edition. The editors are well placed to assemble this book, as they are the editor in chief and deputy editors of the leading academic journal in the field, Foundations of Chemistry. The philosophy of chemistry remains a somewhat neglected field, unlike the philosophy of physics and the philosophy of biology. Why there has been little philosophical attention to the central discipline of chemistry among the three natural sciences is a theme that is explored by several of the contributors. This volume will do a great deal to redress this imbalance. Among the themes covered is the question of reduction of chemistry to physics, the reduction of biology to chemistry, whether true chemical laws exist and causality in chemistry. In addition more general questions of the nature of organic chemistry, biochemistry and chemical synthesis are examined by specialist in these areas. "This volume follows the earlier successful book in the same series, which helped to introduce and spread the Philosophy of Chemistry to a wider audience of philosophers, historians, and science educators, as well as chemists, physicists and biologists. The introduction summarizes the way in which the field has developed in the ten years since the previous volume was conceived and introduces several new authors who did not contribute to the earlier book. The editors are well placed to assemble this book, as they are the editor in chief and deputy editors of the leading academic journal in the field, Foundations of Chemistry. The philosophy of chemistry remains a somewhat neglected field, unlike the philosophy of physics and the philosophy of biology. Why there has been little philosophical attention to the central discipline of chemistry among the three natural sciences is a theme that is explored by several of the contributors. This volume will do a great deal to redress this imbalance. Among the themes covered is the question of reduction of chemistry to physics, the reduction of biology to chemistry, whether true chemical laws exist and causality in chemistry. In addition more general questions of the nature of organic chemistry, biochemistry and chemical synthesis are examined by specialist in these areas"--OCLC Reduction For A Dappled World : Connecting Chemical And Physical Theories / Hinne Hettema -- The Ontological Autonomy Of The Chemical World : Facing The Criticism / Olimpia Lombardi -- A Novel Approach To Emergence In Chemistry / Alexandru Manafu -- The Methodological Pluralism Of Chemistry And Its Philosophical Implications / Joachim Schummer -- Pragmatism And The Philosophy Of Chemistry / Joseph E. Earley Sr. -- One Substance Or More? / Paul Needham -- Mereological Principles And Chemical Affordance / Rom Harré -- Metaphor In Chemistry : An Examination Of Chemical Metaphor / Farzad Mahootian -- From Corpuscles To Elements : Chemical Ontologies From Van Helmont To Lavoisier / Marina Paola Banchetti-robino -- Mendeleev And The Rare-earth Crisis / Pieter Thyssen And Koen Binnemans -- Radicals, Reactions, Realism / Klaus Ruthenberg -- Orbital Symmetry, Idealization, And The Kairetic Account Of Scientific Explanation / Grant Fisher -- Investigating The Meaning Of The Ceteris Paribus Clause In Chemistry / Jean-pierre Noël Llored. Eric Scerri, Lee Mcintyre, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-4 Reduction for a Dappled World: Connecting Chemical and Physical Theories....Pages 5-22 The Ontological Autonomy of the Chemical World: Facing the Criticisms....Pages 23-38 A Novel Approach to Emergence in Chemistry....Pages 39-55 The Methodological Pluralism of Chemistry and Its Philosophical Implications....Pages 57-72 Pragmatism and the Philosophy of Chemistry....Pages 73-89 One Substance or More?....Pages 91-105 Mereological Principles and Chemical Affordances....Pages 107-119 Metaphor in Chemistry: An Examination of Chemical Metaphor....Pages 121-139 From Corpuscles to Elements: Chemical Ontologies from Van Helmont to Lavoisier....Pages 141-154 Mendeleev and the Rare-Earth Crisis....Pages 155-182 Radicals, Reactions, Realism....Pages 183-199 Orbital Symmetry, Idealization, and the Kairetic Account of Scientific Explanation....Pages 201-218 Investigating the Meaning of the Ceteris Paribus Clause in Chemistry....Pages 219-233