Essays philosophy of chemistry

421 Pages·2016·9.053 MB·English

by  Fisher, Grant Andrew;Scerri, Eric R

Essays in the Philosophy of Chemistry

Essays in the Philosophy
of Chemistry
Edited by eric scerri and grant fisher
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Scerri, Eric R., editor. | Fisher, Grant (Grant Andrew), editor.
Title: Essays in the philosophy of chemistry / edited by Eric Scerri and
Grant Fisher.
Description: Oxford : Oxford University Press, [2015] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015031319 | ISBN 978-0-19-049459-9
Subjects: LCSH: Chemistry—Philosophy.
Classification: LCC QD6 .E87 2015 | DDC 540.1—dc23 LC record available at
http://lccn.loc.gov/2015031319
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed by Sheridan, USA
Eric Scerri would like to dedicate this volume to his late mother,
Ines, who passed away in 2015 and who spent a good deal of her life in
nurturing and encouraging his academic interests.
Grant Fisher dedicates this volume to his late mother, Jeannette.
The editors together also dedicate the volume to the Estonian
philosopher of science, Rein Vihalemm, one of our contributors
to this volume, who passed away in 2015.

CONTENTS
Contributors ix
Introduction 3
PART ONE History and Philosophy of Chemistry
CHAPTER 1 Alan Chalmers. Robert Boyle’s Corpuscular
Chemistry: Atomism before its Time 15
CHAPTER 2 Nicholas W. Best. What Was Revolutionary about the
Chemical Revolution? 37
CHAPTER 3 Kostas Gavroglu & Ana Simões. Philosophical Issues
in (Sub)Disciplinary Contexts. The Case of Quantum
Chemistry 60
PART TWO Reduction and Explanation
CHAPTER 4 Marina Paola Banchetti-Robino & Jean-Pierre
Noël Llored. Reality Without Reification:
Philosophy of Chemistry’s Contribution to
Philosophy of Mind 83
CHAPTER 5 Lee McIntyre. Who’s Afraid of Supervenient
Laws? 111
CHAPTER 6 Eric R. Scerri. The Changing Views of a Philosopher
of Chemistry on the Question of Reduction 125
CHAPTER 7 Noretta Koertge. Contingencies in Chemical
Explanation 144
CHAPTER 8 Richard M. Pagni. Reaction Mechanisms 154
PART THREE Metaphysical Issues
CHAPTER 9 Rom Harré. Causality in Chemistry: Regularities
and Agencies 179
CHAPTER 10 Joseph E. Earley, Sr. How Properties Hold Together
in Substances 199
CHAPTER 11 Hasok Chang. Scientific Realism and
Chemistry 234
CHAPTER 12 Robin Findlay Hendry. Natural Kinds in
Chemistry 253
PART FOUR Theory and Practice
CHAPTER 13 Hinne Hettema. Chemistry and “The Theoretician’s
Dilemma” 279
CHAPTER 14 Grant Fisher. Divergence, Diagnostics, and a
Dichotomy of Methods 306
CHAPTER 15 Guillermo Restrepo. Mathematical Chemistry,
a New Discipline 332
CHAPTER 16 Rein Vihalemm. Science, φ-Science, and the Dual
Character of Chemistry 352
Index 381
viii | Contents
CONTRIBUTORS
Marina Paola Banchetti-Robino, Department of Philosophy, Florida Atlantic
University.
Nicholas W. Best, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Indiana
University.
Alan Chalmers, Unit for History and Philosophy of Science, University of
Sydney.
Hasok Chang, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of
Cambridge.
Joseph E. Earley, Sr., Department of Chemistry, Georgetown University.
Grant Fisher, Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy, Korea Advanced
Institute of Science and Technology.
Kostas Gavroglu, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University
of Athens.
Rom Harré, Department of Psychology, Georgetown University and Linacre
College, University of Oxford.
Robin Findlay Hendry, Department of Philosophy, Durham University.
Hinne Hettema, Department of Philosophy, The University of Auckland.
Noretta Koertge, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Indiana
University.
Jean-Pierre Noël Llored, Linacre College, University of Oxford and SPHERE,
Paris Diderot University.
Lee McIntyre, Center for Philosophy and History of Science, Boston University.
Richard M. Pagni, Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee.
Guillermo Restrepo, Laboratorio de Química Teórica, Universidad de Pamplona.
Eric R. Scerri, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of
California Los Angeles.
Ana Simões, Centro Interuniversitário de História das Ciências e Tecnologia,
Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa.
Rein Vihalemm, Institute of Philosophy and Semiotics, University of Tartu.