Eric Scerri

I present a response to Vollmer's review of the book Of Minds and Molecules, and especially her comments on my own article therein. This provides an opportunity to discuss two central ideas in the philosophy of chemistry. These are the distinction between elements as simple substances (element-1) and elements as basic substances (element-2) and Paneth's proposed intermediate position for philosophy of chemistry. The response also discusses the question of isotopes in relationship to the nature of the elements and their classification as well as the philosophical status of atomic orbitals.

Robin Hendry has recently argued that although the term ‘element’ has traditionally been used in two different senses, there has nonetheless been a continuity of reference. The present article examines this author’s historical and philosophical claims and suggests that he has misdiagnosed the situation in several respects. In particular it is claimed that Hendry’s arguments for the nature of one particular element, oxygen, do not generalize to all elements as he implies. The second main objection is to Hendry’s view that the qua problem can be illuminated by appeal to the intention of scientists.Keywords: Element; Simple substance; Basic substance; Antoine Lavoisier; Dmitri Mendeleev; Reference; Qua problem.

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.

Sir Karl Popper is one of the few authors to have discussed the reduction of chemistry. His approach consists of what I term naturalistic reduction, which I suggest bears close similarities to the way in which scientists regard reduction. The present article aims to build on Popper's insights into the nature of reduction in science and more specifically to suggest an approach to characterizing a specific sense of the notion of approximate reduction in the context of chemistry. In the course of the discussion, one of Popper's better known passages on the reduction of chemistry is analysed in some detail.

Having just returned from a science education conference in Brazil I can confirm that there is a great deal of interest in the history and philosophy of chemistry in this country that will be hosting the next ISPC meeting in Rio de Janeiro between July 28th and 30th, 2015. The organizer is Professor Waldmir Araujo Neto who can be contacted at [email protected] for further details.The present issue of Foundations of Chemistry has an even more international flavor than usual with articles from Mexico, Argentina, New Zealand, Israel, Spain, Russia and the United States in order of appearance. We begin with Octavio Novaro’s further analysis of the placement of elements in the periodic table. Next comes a debate between Olimpia Lombardi in Argentina and Hinne Hettema in New Zealand concerning the reduction of chemistry which arose from Hettema’s recent book on the subject. Amihud Gilead, who gave a presentation for the first time at the recent ISPC meeting in London, contributes an art ..

The main thrust of the paper involves a theoretical and philosophical analysis of the claim made in September 1999 that atomic orbitals have been directly imaged for the first time. After a brief account of the recent claims the paper reviews the development of the orbit and later orbital concepts and analyzes the theoretical status of atomic orbitals. The conclusion is that contrary to these claims, atomic orbitals have not in fact been observed. The non-referring nature of modern atomic orbitals is discussed in the context of Laudan's writings on realism, the success of theories, and whether or not scientific terms refer. I conclude that the failure to observe orbitals is a good prima facie case for divorcing the success of theories from the question of whether their central terms refer. The added relevance of this case is that it concerns a current and highly successful theory. Finally, the relevance of this 'floating model' to contemporary discussions on scientific models is briefly considered

The final issue of this volume is a long-awaited special issue in honor of the late Richard Bader one of the pioneers of modern theoretical chemistry. Bader’s work has had wide ramifications in the profession and has given rise to a great deal of philosophical discussion concerning chemical bonding, whether atoms exist in molecules, the nature of atomic orbitals and much besides.The guest editor for what will be a two-part special issue is Cherif Matta a leading proponent of Bader’s approach to theoretical chemistry and incidentally a former PhD student of Bader’s. I will leave it to Cherif to introduce the articles in his extensive and very well referenced editorial.Moving to news of the society, I would like to thank Lucia Lewowitz for organizing such a splendid ISPC meeting which took place in Monevideo as well as the city of Fray Bentos in Uruguay this past August. I am also pleased to announce that we have a definite location for the next annual meeting, which has been graciously