The Philosophy of Chemistry - Term Paper Example

Running Head: THE PHILOSOPHY OF CHEMISTRY THE PHILOSOPHY OF CHEMISTRY By Date The Philosophy of Chemistry In 4th century BCE, philosopher Aristotle composed the first methodical discourse on chemistry. This treatise included his personalized, abstract learning of the nature of matter to house a more or less easy array of visible phenomena. Since then, chemistry has grown into the biggest scientific field that generates more than 500,000 publications annually in the 2000s. These publications vary from direct experiential investigations to significant hypothetical work. Nonetheless, the addition of philosophy into chemistry as a science is a more or less new, specialized interest. In the 21st century, numerous research articles about philosophy in chemistry have been published. The following paper discusses and analyzes the philosophy of chemistry by exploring how certain chemical and chemical-based inventions have changed the modern world, the social, industrial, economic, and medical impacts of chemical technology, and their aesthetic, innovative, and philosophical relationships with other sciences. Background Stress of the atomic culture emerged from the domination of the atomic structure in contemporary chemistry. According to researcher Paul Needham, this dominance outdoes what chemistry owes to cultures such as mechanism and synthesis, modelling, chemical reduction, and chemical explanation (Needham, 2006, p. 27). Absolute characteristics of contemporary chemical hypothesis revisit one or other of the anti-atomistic formations. Needham says Aristotle is an example of a methodical philosopher who argued that the atomic theory could not account for the advent of legitimately new chemicals. Aristotle’s argument was applicable in the 1900s atomism, which demanded some caution in distinguishing what overall notions about chemistry have been preserved from the atomic culture (Needham, 2006, p. 28). Researcher J. Van Brakel explores another early science philosopher who pioneered new ways of thinking in chemistry. Brakel says German philosopher Immanuel Kant’s thoughts on chemistry are unclear although they had a huge impact on both researchers and philosophers (Brakel, 2006, p. 69). This impact arose from his assertion that chemistry is not a suitable science. Brakel demonstrates how this statement had an uneven effect on how philosophers. As a result, researchers during Kant’s era were inclined to see the comparative status of the association of physics to chemistry. Kant’s early statements contributed to the negligence of chemistry as a “proper science,” which further prevented the inclusion of philosophy (Brakel, 2006, p. 70). A more recent study by Brakel employs quantitative data regarding the philosophy of chemistry in relation to other sciences (Brakel, 2014, p. 37). This research work is more explicit in the sense that Brakel outlines findings acquired from the exploration of the main components of physical chemistry, chemical physics, the science of substances, geology, and molecular biology. According to Brakel, each of these fields annexes the philosophy of chemistry. The period of the neglect of chemistry in the philosophy of science is still ongoing (Brakel, 2014, p. 37). This age will persist before a significant number of studies in the philosophy of chemistry routinely appear in the outlines of the overall philosophy of science. In 2006, Eric R. Scerri explored the role of chemistry in describing science from a philosophical standpoint. In this paper, Scerri wrote that logical positivism used to be the only normative strategy to the philosophy of science (Scerri, 2006, p. 119). Normative strategy is a more respectable representation of the philosophy of science. As a result, confidence in the review of the rational structure of scientific hypotheses and the strategy entailing a “first philosophy” has diminished. From this perspective, Scerri says as long as philosophers examine concepts concrete sciences such as psychology, biology, and physics, it is only right to consider an in-depth, philosophical look at chemistry (Scerri, 2006, p. 121). During the same year, researcher Johannes Hunger uses the failure of classical models towards chemistry over the past few decades. Hunger says the culture of turning a phenomenon into a concept before explaining it is the main reason chemistry has not had a philosophical view as a science (Hunger, 2006, p. 129). This culture amongst researchers and scholars is commanding despite chemistry being a discipline older than a millennium. Hunger uses the arguments of preceding philosophers like Nietzsche to diagnose the interest of scientists in chemical phenomena during the late 1900s. Hunger contends that philosophers of science have heavily populated the fields of physics and biology by reviewing their scientific practices in depth (Hunger, 2006, p. 132). Researcher Robin Findlay Hendry notes that the methods, outcomes, and associations between chemistry and physics are interesting. This interest arises from both fields’ sharing a profound ontological revision (Hendry, 2006, p. 173). However, Hendry emphasizes that the affiliation between chemistry and physics is of “wider resonance.” This is because evaluating the proof of the universal nature of physical law says chemistry ought to be fundamental. As a result, downward causation must be applicable in chemistry as it is in physics. This philosophy forms the basis for Hendry’s study and argument regarding the shallower but more enlightening concept of the physical law (Hendry, 2006, p. 184). The ISPC (International Society for the Philosophy of Chemistry) contributes to this attribute of the discipline by publishing articles on the elements of chemistry. According to the ISPC, the philosophy of chemistry entails both the internal queries emerging from the techniques, ideas, and ontology exclusive to chemistry and chemical research (ISPC, 2011). The philosophy of chemistry also concerns conventional queries in the philosophy of science when tackled from a chemical point of view. This definition of the philosophy of chemistry echoes previous studies and publications that ISPC’s publications revolve around (ISPC, 2011). Aspects of the Philosophy of Chemistry and their Relationship to Art, Creativity, and the Philosophy of other Sciences The key parts of the philosophy of chemistry are the analysis and synthesis of concepts in chemistry and convectional philosophical themes in chemistry. Brakel argues that chemistry is exclusive and discerns itself from all other sciences regarding three key aspects. The first aspect is a “stuff” point of view that calls for the conceptual review of the idea of stuff or substance (Brakel, 2014, p. 11). The second aspect is the formation of the stuff point of view, which is the conversion of stuff through chemical activity or phase shift. Lastly, the vital role of the associations between chemistry and physics in relation to the query how all things interrelate is an aspect of the philosophy of chemistry (Brakel, 2014, p. 11). Affordance, pivot, and mereological misconceptions are tools of the philosophy of chemistry. Rom Harré says these tools were added to the resources of chemistry by renowned researchers during the second half of the twentieth century and the early 2000s (Harré, 2014, p. 89). Collectively, these tools pave the way for a remolding of the materialist metaphysics of chemistry to some degree. When properly used in the philosophy of chemistry, these tools serve as aspects that embody a transformed emphasis on chemical practice and its connection to the outcomes of chemical reactions. The analytical application of these three aspects shows the degree to which the environment of chemical procedures is a fundamental element of chemical accounts. Michael Weisberg relates the philosophy of chemistry to art through the discussion of the coordination principle (Weisberg, 2003, p. 10). The coordination principle is the notion that types of natural and scientific language array or can be placed on top of one another. Weisberg uses water to explore this principle as a presumption of semantic externalist hypotheses. This exploration reveals that water lacks this modest one-to-one correspondence between chemical and regular types of language. Weisberg’s work discovers that the application of kind words in chemistry is frequently context sensitive (Weisberg, 2003, p. 8). In situations where chemists want to assure clarity, chemists use a highly complicated and nuanced series of kind words. Weisberg deduces that none of these words can be related logically to the regular language kind word “water” only. Philosophy in chemistry relates to creativity in terms of the various aspects that make up the discipline with respect to other sciences. According to Joachim Schummer, two “running threads” determine the creative nature of chemistry today (Schummer, 2010, p. 11). The threads are drastic change and tackling real-world complications. Schummer philosophy is that chemistry is primarily about drastic change that physics cannot capture sufficiently. Drastic change allows for synthesis that makes chemical knowledge essentially unfinished and chemical research morally applicable. Schummer adds that chemistry handles real-world complications by changing the physical world in the lab to its classificatory ideas (Schummer, 2010, p. 12). At the same time, these ideas are not applicable in sciences like physics. As a result, creativity in the philosophy of chemistry requires adherence to methodological pluralism that poses limits to knowing more about the world beyond the lab. Roald Hoffmann sheds more light on the creativity associated with chemistry that can benefit from the philosophy of science. In this article, Hoffmann imagines how chemists would contribute to the philosophy of science if given a chance. Hoffmann says there would be increased creativity in overall science if more philosophers of science were chemists (Hoffmann, 2007, p. 327). The study says this outcome is likely since chemistry is the only science that entails creation. Since creation is a leading theme in chemistry, assumptions or disproof is irrelevant. The incredible ability of chemists to change matter strengthens the realistic nature of the field. However, Hoffmann says that how chemists adopt reductionism and fail to apply it practically (Hoffmann, 2007, p. 329). This failure contributed to the negligence of chemistry in the philosophies of physics and biology between the 1600s and 1960. The domination of synthesis in chemistry could have resulted in philosophers of science treating queries of art and creativity more sternly within science. The undeserved neglect of chemistry by philosophers of science emerged largely by historical accident. Nalini Bhushan and Stuart Rosenfeld say individuals fluent in mathematics or physics led the philosophy of science during the early 1900s (Bhushan and Rosenfeld, 2000, p. 159). This domination accounted for their negligence of chemistry as it lacked adequate representation. For instance, Albert Einstein’s works and feats confronted longstanding concepts regarding the characteristics of space and time, which caused much philosophical focus to be turned to physics. The notions in Bhushan and Rosenfeld’s book do not have rigor and substance in spite of being philosophically crucial and legitimately appealing (Bhushan and Rosenfeld, 2000, p. 38). At the same time, this criticism does not overshadow its importance to the philosophy of chemistry. The tendency of the philosophers of science to shift to sciences that pose substantial conflicts or present ambiguous fundamental ideas has hurt the philosophy of chemistry. In conclusion, these studies shed light on the major parts of the philosophy of chemistry. These parts are the analysis and synthesis of concepts in chemistry and conventional philosophical themes in chemistry. The neglect of chemistry by the philosophers of science has been unfortunate. Recent studies have proven that chemistry can contribute a tremendous deal of knowledge to overall science as it relates to sciences such as physics, psychology, and biology. These contributions include atomist, reductionism, chemical explanation, and physical law. Aspects of the philosophy of chemistry relate to the artistic, creative, and philosophical natures of overall science that could benefit from the in-depth knowledge about changes in matter. More research work on the effects and contributions of chemistry in past and contemporary societies are necessary for building the philosophy of chemistry. References Bhushan, N and Rosenfeld, S 2000, Of Minds and Molecules: New Philosophical Perspectives on Chemistry, Oxford University Press, London. Brakel, JV 2006, ‘Kant’s Legacy for the Philosophy of Chemistry,’ Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol. 242, pp. 69-91. Brakel, JV 2014, ‘Philosophy of Science and Philosophy of Chemistry,’ HYLE-International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry, Vol. 20, pp. 11-57. Harré, R 2014, ‘New Tools for Philosophy of Chemistry,’ HYLE-International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry, Vol. 20, pp. 77-91. Hendry, RF 2006, ‘Is There Downward Causation in Chemistry?’ Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 242, pp. 173-89. Hoffmann, R 2007, ‘What Might Philosophy of Science Look like If Chemists Built It?’ Topics in the Philosophy of Chemistry, Vol. 155, No. 3, pp. 321-336. Hunger, J 2006, ‘How Classical Models of Explanation Fail to Cope with Chemistry,’ Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 242, pp. 129-56. ISPC 2011, Home, International Society for the Philosophy of Chemistry, viewed 9 January 2015, https://sites.google.com/site/socphilchem/ Needham, P 2006, ‘Aristotle’s Theory of Chemical Reaction and Chemical Substances,’ Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, pp. 1-31. Scerri, ER 2006, ‘Normative and Descriptive Philosophy of Science and the Role of Chemistry,’ Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 242, pp 119-28. Schummer, J 2010, ‘The Philosophy of Chemistry,’ Philosophies of the Sciences, pp. 163-83. Weisberg, M 2003, ‘Water is Not H2O,’ Waterfinal Tex, vol. 12, no. 58, pp.1-11. Read More