New Tools for Philosophy of Chemistry

Three concepts have recently been added to the resources of the philosophy of chemistry - 'affordance' from J.J. Gibson's (1967) perception studies, 'hinge' from Ludwig Wittgenstein's later philosophy (Wittgenstein 1974), and the 'mereological fallacies' from the critical discussion of neuropsychology by M.R. Bennett and P.M.S. Hacker (2003). Together they have to some extent opened the way for a reshaping of the materialist metaphysics of chemistry. When made use of in the philosophy of chemistry they also represent a renewed emphasis on chemical practice and its relation to the products of chemical activity. In addition to that shift of emphasis, the analytical use of the three concepts reveals the extent to which the environment of chemical processes is an essential component in chemical explanations. The analytical tool kit is completed by the revival of the model centered approach to the understanding of how the content of theories is established, changes, and grows. The fourth concept, that of the 'iconic model' (Hesse 1963), completes the equipment needed to examine the intelligibility of chemical discourse and practice in more detail than heretofore.