Document Detail


The chemists' style of thinking.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20481060     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
This paper discusses the relevance of the notion of "styles of scientific thinking" introduced by Alistair Crombie and revisited by Ian Hacking, for understanding how chemistry shaped its identity. Although neither Crombie nor Hacking applied this notion to individual disciplines, it seems appropriate to use it in the case of chemistry because it helps to address a puzzling issue: how did chemists manage to shape an identity of their own, despite shifting territories and theoretical transformations? Following a presentation of the notion of style, I will argue that the stable identity of chemistry is rooted in laboratory practices, which determined the specific questions that chemists put to nature as well as the answers to their questions. The "chemical style of thinking" is characterized by (i) a specific way of knowing through making, (ii) the concern with individual materials rather than matter in general and (iii) a specific commitment to nature.
Authors:
Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent
Publication Detail:
Type:  Historical Article; Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte     Volume:  32     ISSN:  0170-6233     ISO Abbreviation:  Ber Wiss     Publication Date:  2009 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-05-20     Completed Date:  2010-07-07     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7909914     Medline TA:  Ber Wiss     Country:  Germany    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  365-78     Citation Subset:  QIS    
Affiliation:
Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense-Paris X, Département de philosophie ,EA 373-Histoire de la philosophie, histoire des sciences, Nanterre. bensaude@club-internet.fr
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Attention
Chemistry* / history
History, 19th Century
History, 20th Century
History, 21st Century
Humans
Intelligence
Knowledge
Laboratories
Science*
Thinking*

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