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| 2. |
- Needham, Paul, 1948-
(författare)
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A Mereological Interpretation of the Phase Rule
- 2010
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Ingår i: Philosophy of science (East Lansing). - 0031-8248 .- 1539-767X. ; 77:5, s. 900-910
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gibbs's phase rule treats mixtures by relating the number of independent variables governing their state to the numbers of phases and independent substances. For the case of a single substance, it provides a criterion of purity. But where more substances are involved, the notion of independent substance is less readily understood. Textbook writers sometimes use algebraic terminology in ways that are suggestive but cannot be taken as literally accurate. I suggest that a mereological interpretation applies to these cases, as it captures more concisely the insights underlying the use of algebraic terminology and illuminates the general notion of substance.
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| 3. |
- Needham, Paul, 1948-
(författare)
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A Revisionist History of Atomism
- 2010
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Ingår i: Metascience. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0815-0796 .- 1467-9981. ; 19, s. 349-371
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 4. |
- Needham, Paul, 1948-
(författare)
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An Aristotelian Theory of Chemical Substance
- 2009
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Ingår i: Logical Analysis and History of Philosophy. - München : Mentis. - 1617-3473. ; 12, s. 149-164
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 5. |
- Needham, Paul, 1948-, et al.
(författare)
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Aspects of the Concept of Potentiality in Chemistry
- 2018
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Ingår i: Handbook of Potentiality. - Dordrecht : Springer. - 9789402412857 - 9789402412871 ; , s. 375-400
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Must potentiality be grounded in actuality? A central issue in the philosophy of chemistry, going back to Aristotle, is an instance of that very general question: when elements combine, are they actually present in the compound substance which results, or are they only potentially present, in the sense that they can be recovered on separation? Atomism down the ages has been widely understood to endorse the former view, while Aristotle famously defended the latter view, arguing that on the atomist account it is difficult to distinguish genuine chemical combination from mere juxtaposition of the elements. We examine how far, and in what respects, modern chemical theories, enriched by their interaction with physical theories such as quantum mechanics, vindicate atomism over Aristotle. Our conclusion is that the endorsement is only partial: modern chemistry agrees that elements survive in compounds, but must reject the atomist assumption that, when elements are ‘regenerated’ from a compound, the portions of matter that result can be identified with those that constituted the elements before combination.
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| 6. |
- Needham, Paul, 1948-
(författare)
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Atoms and Chemistry I : Not a Success Story
- 2020
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Ingår i: Atomism in Philosophy. - London : Bloomsbury Academic. - 9781350107496 - 9781350107519 ; , s. 457-469
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Classical atoms—“part-less, ontologically irreducible simples” as the conference flyer puts it—are not the atoms of modern chemistry and analogies with the latter can be construed in various ways. They have figured in the historical development of concepts of chemical affinity but without, as Alan Chalmers and I have independently argued, making any significant contribution to empirically justified theories. A purely combinatorial conception of the formation of compounds by juxtaposing atoms is associated with Daltonian atomism. I review the merits of this idea as a solution to problems posed by developments in early nineteenth century chemistry and go on to suggest that subsequent developments in chemistry are as much in agreement with ideas associated with Aristotle as with the ancient atomists, if not more so. The basic issues can be understood without getting involved in detailed chemistry and I hope what I have to say will be of interest to philosophers concerned with the metaphysics of matter but with no special knowledge of chemistry.
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| 7. |
- Needham, Paul, 1948-
(författare)
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Chemistry
- 2017
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Ingår i: Handbook of Mereology. - München : Philosophia Verlag GmbH. - 9783884050903 ; , s. 141-147
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Needham, Paul, 1948-
(författare)
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Compounds and Mixtures
- 2012
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Ingår i: Philosophy of chemistry. - Amsterdam : Elsevier. - 9780080930763 - 9780444516756 ; , s. 271-290
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)
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| 10. |
- Needham, Paul, 1948-
(författare)
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Determining Sameness of Substance
- 2017
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Ingår i: British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. - : University of Chicago Press. - 0007-0882 .- 1464-3537. ; 68:4, s. 953-979
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The idea that the extension of a chemical substance is fixed by determining what stands in the relation of being the same substance to a paradigm sample plays a substantial role in chemistry, and procedures of identification which don’t make direct use of the method can be traced back to ones that do. But paradigm samples are not typically selected by ostension, as in Putnam’s version of this procedure. The relevance of ostension is questioned after a discussion of the establishment of paradigm specimens in the analysis of some contents of crude oil and an examination of the general features of the same substance relation which takes into account the temporal dependency and the consequent role of characteristic features of substances.
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