Chemistry : the Impure Science.
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| Author / Creator: | Bensaude-Vincent, Bernadette. |
|---|---|
| Edition: | 2nd ed. |
| Imprint: | Singapore : World Scientific, 2012. |
| Description: | 1 online resource (295 pages) |
| Language: | English |
| Subject: | |
| Format: | E-Resource Book |
| URL for this record: | http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11140006 |
Table of Contents:
- Preface; Acknowledgements; Chapter 1 Introduction: Chemistry and its Discontents; The Philosophy of Chemistry; The Image of Chemistry; The Goals of the Book; The Structure of the Book; Notes; Chapter 2 Chemistry and Pollution; Chemical versus Natural; Chemistry in Literature; Silent Spring; "Better Things for Better Living ... Through Chemistry"; Abundance and Waste; Courting Disaster; Artificial or Natural?; Notes; Chapter 3 The Damnation of the Alchemist; Magicians or Charlatans; In Defence of Artifice; Faustian Ambitions; From Extracts to Ersatz; Pure and Applied Chemistry.
- Artefacts as Hybrids of Nature and SocietyNotes; Chapter 4 The Space of the Laboratory; Chemical Recipe Books; A Space of Toil; Seeing at a Glance; A Purified Space; A Social Space; An Instrumental Space; Notes; Chapter 5 Proof in the Laboratory; Chemical Experiment as Public Spectacle; Instruments of Decision; The Power of Scepticism; The Price of Proof; The Limits of Proof; Notes; Chapter 6 Chemistry Creates its Object; The Different Meanings of Synthesis; From Simple to Complex; From Fictions to Artefacts; A Creative Process; Notes; Chapter 7 A Duel Between Two Conceptions of Matter.
- The Ancient Concept of PhusisAtoms versus Elements: Two Rival Systems; Is Chemistry Aristotelian?; The Aporia of the Mixt; Mixts or Compounds, Stahl or Lavoisier; A Vexing Question; Notes; Chapter 8 Chemistry versus Physics; To Each Science its Ontology; The Ultimate Quest; No Matter Without Qualities; No Matter Without Agency; Notes; Chapter 9 Atoms or Elements; Mendeleev's Wager; Renewing Mendeleev's Wager; Who's Afraid of Reductionism?; Between the Macro and the Micro; Notes; Chapter 10 Positivism and Chemistry; A Variety of Positivisms; Chemistry as the Model for Positive Science.
- Positivism as an Obstacle?Positivism versus Realism; Notes; Chapter 11 Atoms as Fictions; Writing Formulae; Types and Models; Agnostic Atomism; Atoms as Mediators; The Phenomenalist Response; The Instrumentalist Response; The Energetist Response; Notes; Chapter 12 Agency and Relations; Elements as Actors; Operational Realism; Alternative Metaphors; Notes; Chapter 13 Taming the Nanoworld; Bottom-Up versus Top-Down; Rational Design; Bio-Inspired Chemistry; The Return of Chemistry's Faustian Ambitions; The Rise of Chemistry's Philosophical Ambitions; Notes.
- Chapter 14 Towards a Responsible ChemistryConcerns About the Future; From Chemist's Creed to Code of Conduct; From Prudence to Precaution; A New Chemical Culture?; Notes; Bibliography; Index.