Chemistry : the impure science

This book uses history to introduce central issues in the philosophy of chemistry. Mobilizing the theme of impurity, it explores the tradition of chemistry's negative image. It then argues for the positive philosophical value of chemistry, reflecting its characteristic practical engagement with the material world. The book concludes with some ethical reflections concerning chemistry's orientations in the twenty-first century.The authors have previously both offered significant contributions to the history and philosophy of chemistry.

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Choice Review

This is an unusual and remarkable book, which mingles philosophy of chemistry, a recently resurgent segment of philosophy of science, with history of chemistry, and includes an examination of the image of chemistry in society. Some chapter headings give the flavor of the book's diversity: "Chemistry and Pollution," "The Damnation of the Alchemist," "Proof in the Laboratory," "Chemistry versus Physics," "Positivism and Chemistry," "Atoms as Fictions," and "Towards a Responsible Chemistry." Bensaude-Vincent (Universite Paris X, France) and Simon (Universite Lyon, France), significant contributors to history and philosophy of chemistry, develop cogent arguments about the independent place of chemistry among the sciences. The book is clearly written and contains a few pertinent illustrations and an extensive bibliography. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers/libraries. H. Goldwhite emeritus, California State University, Los Angeles

Acknowledgements	p. vii
Chapter 1 Introduction: Chemistry and Its Discontents	p. 1
The Philosophy of Chemistry	p. 2
The Image of Chemistry	p. 4
The Goals of the Book	p. 5
The Structure of the Book	p. 6
Chapter 2 Chemistry and Pollution	p. 11
Chemical versus Natural	p. 11
Chemistry in Literature	p. 15
Silent Spring	p. 17
"Better Things for Better Living ... Through Chemistry"	p. 21
Abundance and Waste	p. 27
Courting Disaster	p. 29
Artificial or Natural?	p. 30
Chapter 3 The Damnation of the Alchemist	p. 33
Magicians or Charlatans	p. 33
In Defense of Artifice	p. 37
Faustian Ambitions	p. 39
From Extracts to Ersatz	p. 42
Pure and Applied Chemistry	p. 45
Artefacts as Hybrids of Nature and Society	p. 46
Chapter 4 The Space of the Laboratory	p. 55
Chemical Recipe Books	p. 58
A Space of Toil	p. 63
Seeing at a Glance	p. 65
A Purified Space	p. 68
A Social Space	p. 72
An Instrumental Space	p. 74
Chapter 5 Proof in the Laboratory	p. 81
Chemical Experiment as Public Spectacle	p. 81
Instruments of Decision	p. 84
The Power of Scepticism	p. 87
The Price of Proof	p. 89
The Limits of Proof	p. 93
Chapter 6 Chemistry Creates Its Object	p. 99
The Different Meanings of Synthesis	p. 101
From Simple to Complex	p. 102
From Fictions to Artefacts	p. 105
A Creative Process	p. 109
Chapter 7 A Duel between Two Conceptions of Matter	p. 115
The Ancient Concept of Phusis	p. 115
Atoms versus Elements; Two Rival Systems	p. 117
Is Chemistry Aristotelian?	p. 120
The Aporia of the Mixt	p. 122
Mixts or Compounds, Stahl or Lavoisier	p. 123
A Vexing Question	p. 125
Chapter 8 Chemistry versus Physics	p. 131
To Each Science Its Ontology	p. 132
The Ultimate Quest	p. 137
No Matter Without Qualities	p. 139
No Matter Without Agency	p. 145
Chapter 9 Atoms or Elements	p. 155
Mendeleev's Wager	p. 156
Renewing Mendeleev's Wager	p. 161
Who's Afraid of Reductionism?	p. 164
Between the Macro and the Micro	p. 168
Chapter 10 Positivism and Chemistry	p. 175
A Variety of Positivisms	p. 176
Chemistry as the Model for Positive Science	p. 177
Positivism as an Obstacle?	p. 179
Positivism versus Realism	p. 181
Chapter 11 Atoms as Fictions	p. 185
Writing Formulae	p. 186
Types and Models	p. 187
Agnostic Atomism	p. 189
Atoms as Mediators	p. 191
The Phenomenalist Response	p. 193
The Instrumentalist Response	p. 194
The Energetist Response	p. 197
Chapter 12 Agency and Relations	p. 201
Elements as Actors	p. 202
Operational Realism	p. 206
Alternative Metaphors	p. 210
Chapter 13 Taming the Nanoworld	p. 215
Bottom-Up versus Top-Down	p. 217
Rational Design	p. 219
Bio-Inspired Chemistry	p. 221
The Return of Chemistry's Faustian Ambitions	p. 225
The Rise of Chemistry's Philosophical Ambitions	p. 226
Chapter 14 Towards a Responsible Chemistry	p. 231
Concerns About the Future	p. 231
The Chemist's Code of Conduct	p. 233
From Prudence to Precaution	p. 236
A New Chemical Culture?	p. 238
Bibliography	p. 245
Index	p. 263

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