Editorial 16

Synthese, 1997

The philosophy of chemistry has been sadly neglected by most contempory literature in the philosophy of science. This paper argues that this neglect has been unfortunate and that there is much to be learned from paying greater philosophical attention to the set of issues defined by the philosophy of chemistry. The potential contribution of this field to such current topics as reduction, laws, explanation, and supervenience is explored, as are possible applications of insights gained by such study to the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of social science.

Foundations of Chemistry, 2018

1997

The philosophy of chemistry has been sadly neglected by most contempory literature in the philosophy of science. This paper argues that this neglect has been unfortunate and that there is much to be learned from paying greater philosophical attention to the set of issues defined by the philosophy of chemistry.

Ambix, 2016

2014

By the 1960s many (perhaps most) philosophers had adopted ‘physicalism ’ ─ the view that physical causes fully account for mental activities. However, controversy persists about what count as ‘physical causes’. ‘Reductive ’ physicalists recognize only microphysical (elementary-particle-level) causality. Many (perhaps most) physicalists are ‘non-reductive ’ ─ they hold that entities considered by other (‘special’) sciences have causal powers. Philosophy of chemistry can help resolve main issues in philosophy of mind in three ways: developing an extended mereology applicable to chemical combination, testing whether ‘singularities ’ prevent reduction of chemistry to microphysics, and demonstrating ‘downward causation ’ in complex networks of chemical reactions. Keywords: Physicalism, philosophy of chemistry, mind, mereology, structuralism, emergence, realism, downward causation.

Longer version of an invited book review of the anthology Philosophy of Chemistry: Growth of a New Discipline. Published in the journal Metascience.

Structural Chemistry, 2017

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Annals of Science, 2010

Since the 1990s the philosophy of chemistry has been growing significantly. Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent and Jonathan Simon both contributed to this growth. With Chemistry: The Impure Science, which is dedicated to Larry Holmes, they offer a new contribution to this field. Ranging from antiquity to modern chemistry, they use a lot of examples from the history of chemistry as the subjects of their philosophical analyses. In addition, their book deals with the image of chemistry which is a hot topic in modern society. Therefore, this work might serve as a textbook for an (under)graduate course in the history and philosophy of chemistry. The main purpose of the authors is to address their own (new) philosophy of chemistry that ‘emerges from the chemist’s constant practical engagement with matter’ (p. 5). Doubtless, historians of science will also benefit from Chemistry: The Impure Science. Unfortunately, the index is not comprehensive with respect to the book’s contents. The authors used more than 300 primary and secondary sources which are placed in a bibliography and in notes at the end of each chapter. By referring to these sources, they reflect upon the opinions of other historians*and philosophers of science. The book’s illustrations positively complement the content. For example, in 1886 the hexagonal form of the benzene structure, as proposed by Kekule´, was represented by the German Chemical Society ‘by a circle of six monkeys’ (pp. 188, 189). In addition, the chapters smoothly run into each other.

2010

The 27th annual Conference of The International Society for the Philosophy of Chemistry, 2024

In this communication, starting from the relationship between chemistry and biology, I would like to show that the chemical explanation of the material world is today universal and this deserves some philosophical consideration.