The Case for Philosophy of Chemistry

Scerri, Eric and McIntyre, Lee (1997) The Case for Philosophy of Chemistry.

Abstract

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 unfor-tunate
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.