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Scientific Revolution in Chemistry
Reasoning is nothing more than a language well arranged.
A. L. Lavoisier
Abstract
Scientific revolution in chemistry has appeared at the end of eighteenth century.
This period of science is bound to the name of Lavoisier, who, by using proper
experimental model, has developed the most important concept of chemistry: the
definition of chemical element. The case study about the rejection of the
phlogiston theory after the discovery of the element oxygen is dedicated to the
general discussion in the philosophy of science about the extent and limitations
of the radical falsificationism.
Keywords
Heurism Á Falsificationism Á Oxygen Á Chemical element Á Scientific revolution
in chemistry Á Method of classification Á Method of systematization Á Analogy Á
Transduction Á Nomenclature Á Taxonomy Á Science and linguistics Á Ockham
razor Á Substitution reaction
From the work of Thomas Kuhn, we know that the period of scientific revolution is
characterized by changing the paradigm, for instance, the geocentric planetary
system was irreversibly replaced with the heliocentric one. Newton has revolutionized physics by introducing new heuristic parameters: force and mass. The new
light in science is appearing, the new “design” of the scientific modes of viewing.
Since chemistry origins from experiment, it was in the longest historical period
the qualitative discipline. This fact is important from the philosophical point of
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
H. Vančik, Philosophy of Chemistry, Integrated Science 2,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69224-7_8
63
Scientific Revolution in Chemistry
Reasoning is nothing more than a language well arranged.
A. L. Lavoisier
Abstract
Scientific revolution in chemistry has appeared at the end of eighteenth century.
This period of science is bound to the name of Lavoisier, who, by using proper
experimental model, has developed the most important concept of chemistry: the
definition of chemical element. The case study about the rejection of the
phlogiston theory after the discovery of the element oxygen is dedicated to the
general discussion in the philosophy of science about the extent and limitations
of the radical falsificationism.
Keywords
Heurism Á Falsificationism Á Oxygen Á Chemical element Á Scientific revolution
in chemistry Á Method of classification Á Method of systematization Á Analogy Á
Transduction Á Nomenclature Á Taxonomy Á Science and linguistics Á Ockham
razor Á Substitution reaction
From the work of Thomas Kuhn, we know that the period of scientific revolution is
characterized by changing the paradigm, for instance, the geocentric planetary
system was irreversibly replaced with the heliocentric one. Newton has revolutionized physics by introducing new heuristic parameters: force and mass. The new
light in science is appearing, the new “design” of the scientific modes of viewing.
Since chemistry origins from experiment, it was in the longest historical period
the qualitative discipline. This fact is important from the philosophical point of
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
H. Vančik, Philosophy of Chemistry, Integrated Science 2,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69224-7_8
63