Abstract
This paper widens the scope of our previous paper (Harré and Llored in Found Chem 13:63–76, 2011) by scrutinizing how whole/parts relations are involved in the study of molecules. In doing so, we point out two mereological fallacies which endanger both philosophical and chemical inferences. We also further explore how the concept of affordance is related to our mereological investigation. We then refer to quantum chemistry in order to pave the way for a new mereological approach for chemistry.
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‘Affordance’ will be explained in more detail below.
A quick glance at the Internet (‘Library, thinking, quest’ for example) reveals such statements as ‘Schrödinger’s three-dimensional model requires three coordinates… which describe the orbitals where electrons can be found’. And how pray would we do that? Insert an electron probe into the interior of an atom!!
Eugene Schwarz has suggested to us that in the context of quantum chemistry ‘glub’ could be identified with a generic energy field. Maybe but this is not what current chemists are interested in, only physicists might be.
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Harré, R., Llored, JP. Molecules and mereology. Found Chem 15, 127–144 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10698-013-9181-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10698-013-9181-5