Philosophy of Chemistry

by Dov M. Gabbay, Paul Thagard, John Woods, Robin Findlay Hendry, Paul Needham

Overview

Philosophy of Chemistry investigates the foundational concepts and methods of chemistry, the science of the nature of substances and their transformations. This groundbreaking collection, the most thorough treatment of the philosophy of chemistry ever published, brings together philosophers, scientists and historians to map out the central topics in the field. The 33 articles address the history of the philosophy of chemistry and the philosophical importance of some central figures in the history of chemistry; the nature of chemical substances; central chemical concepts and methods, including the chemical bond, the periodic table and reaction mechanisms; and chemistry’s relationship to other disciplines such as physics, molecular biology, pharmacy and chemical engineering. This volume serves as a detailed introduction for those new to the field as well as a rich source of new insights and potential research agendas for those already engaged with the philosophy of chemistry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780444516756
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	12/08/2011
Series:	Handbook of the Philosophy of Science , #6
Pages:	575
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 10.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Dov M. Gabbay is Augustus De Morgan Professor Emeritus of Logic at the Group of Logic, Language and Computation, Department of Computer Science, King's College London. He has authored over four hundred and fifty research papers and over thirty research monographs. He is editor of several international Journals, and many reference works and Handbooks of Logic.

Table of Contents

Part 1. Introduction Introduction

Part 2. History of the Philosophy of Chemistry Prehistory of the Philosophy of Chemistry Robert Boyle (1627–1691) Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794) John Dalton (1766–1844) Dmitrii Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834–1907) Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839–1903) Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932) Pierre Duhem (1861–1916) Františsek Wald (1861–1930) G. N. Lewis (1875–1946) Gaston Bachelard (1884–1962) Linus Pauling (1901–1994) Charles Coulson (1910–1974) Ilya Prigogine (1917–2003)

Part 3. Chemical Substances Ancient Theories of Chemical Substance Substances: The Ontology of Chemistry Modality, Mereology and Substance Elements Compounds and Mixtures

Part 4. Chemical Concepts and Methods Chemical Bond Mechanisms and Chemical Reaction The Periodic Table Laws in Chemistry Chemical Modeling

Part 5. Chemistry and Physics Reduction, Emergence and Physicalism Atoms and Molecules in Classical Chemistry and Quantum Mechanics Concept Amalgamation and Representation in Quantum Chemistry Thermodynamics in Chemistry Entropy in Chemistry

Part 6. Chemistry and Other Disciplines Chemistry and Molecular Biology Chemistry and Pharmacy: A Philosophical Inquiry into an Evolving Relationship Chemical Engineering Science

Editorial Reviews

"Excellent and interesting book for a chemistry teacher or for someone interested in the history and philosophy of chemistry…This groundbreaking collection, the most thorough treatment of the philosophy of chemistry ever published, brings together philosophers, scientists and historians to map out the central topics in the field." —BookInspections.com, May 2013

From the Publisher