Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
the chemical body enters into a series of interactions that produce determinate
things that are characterized by their consistence and transformability, their perfor-
mance, and their functionality (Nordmann
2013
). In the context of chemistry, the
dichotomy of essences and accidents thus collapses.
Let us draw our second conclusion:
The meaning of the ceteris paribus clause in
chemistry should be understood within a philosophical framework in which the
modes of access do not
pre
-
existing chemicals but
,
on the contrary
,
actively
take part in their very constitution
(Requisite 2). This constitutive role thus permits
limited inferences on how to deal with what is or said to be displayed by the
chemical experiment under consideration. In this respect, a philosophical investi-
gation of the issue at stake should address the possibility for the internal structure of
a body to depend both on the context and the size of that body. The integration of
the relational dimension of what is usually considered to be intrinsic is a starting
point to reflect upon what changes when all other factors remain equal and what the
words “sameness” and “isolation” may mean in the context of chemistry. To do so,
we should not leave the materials aside and just draw our attention to the mode of
access only, but rather place the greatest emphasis on the interactions between
the two.
Keeping these two requirements in mind, we can investigate the meaning of the
ceteris paribus
clause in chemistry, if we also remember that, in such a context,
there is no reduction of a level of organization by another but codependence
between them. Chemists hold the whole
,
the parts
,
and the surroundings together
(Llored
2012
). To do so, we should follow Rom Harr
´
reveal
'
'
s recommendation to avoid
'
two mereological fallacies (Harr
´
and Llored
2013
):
1. a
which consists in applying to a part of a chemical body a
predicate that gets its meaning from its use for ascribing an attribute to the whole
body from which the part comes.
2. an
'
semantic fallacy
'
which consists in inferring that substantive products of
an analytical procedure exercised on a complex body are always parts or
constituents of that body.
'
ontological fallacy
'
The identification of these fallacious patterns of reasoning is context relative and
they must be applied judiciously. For example a chemical complex has mass and so
do its constituents. But a chemical complex may have analgesic effects but its
constituent chemical radicals usually do not.
14.3 The Meaning of Ceteris Paribus Clauses in Chemistry
Current experimental work shows that sodium hydroxide pellets react more quickly
with the carbon dioxide contained in the air than substantial masses of the sub-
stance, under the same circumstances. This reaction of
is mainly
linked to the differences in area of the exposed surfaces and to the carbon dioxide
carbonatation
'
'
