Jargonium Asks... Eric Scerri

For the latest issue of Jargonium Asks, we are thrilled to feature an interview with Eric R. Scerri, chemist and philosopher based at UCLA. Eric has published widely on philosophy of chemistry, and is especially known to many of our readers for his Periodic Table, Its Story and Significance (2007, OUP), which received the Newby McCoy prize by the UCLA Department of Chemistry and was named an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice magazine. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Foundations of Chemistry.

1. How did you get into the history and/or philosophy of chemistry?

While studying chemistry and physics at school and college I always wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter, rather than just learning how to solve numerical questions and pass exams.  In addition, I always found that I understood the material better if I approached it historically.  After a couple of failed attempts at a regular chemistry research I finally made the move to HPS and obtained my PhD with the notorious Heinz Post as my advisor, at King’s College, London.

2. What is your favourite question in the history and/or philosophy of chemistry?

The long-standing debate concerning the dual nature of the term ‘element’.  I first got involved in this issue after reading Paneth’s article in the BJPS.  Although Paneth was Heinz Post’s father, I never took an interest in this question until about 5 years after getting my doctorate. A few years ago I co-edited a book on the subject with Elena Ghibaudi What is a Chemical Element? (OUP, 2020.)

[You may access Jargonium Asks interview of Elena here.]

3. What is the value of history and/or philosophy of chemistry?

In my opinion, it enriches the study of chemistry enormously, although not everybody agrees with this notion. Students of chemistry at every level, especially those with a more humanistic leaning, can gain from reflecting broadly and perhaps more deeply on various chemical topics.  

4. What are you currently working on?

Trying to see if structural realism is of any value in the domain of chemistry and in particular in the context of the periodic table. Briefly, the general idea is that scientific entities come and go while the underlying ‘structure’ persists.  In the case of physics this structure takes a mathematical form.  In chemistry it’s not quite the same.  The periodic table is quite literally a representation of the underlying structure in chemistry, or more specifically it displays the relationships between groups of different elements.  

In addition I believe the question of how to understand elements may also play a role here since some versions of structural realism are consistent with a thing-less ontology, just as the view of elements as abstract or basic substances goes beyond the sense of elements in the tangible form that we usually think of them.

5. How do you envision the future of the field? What are the areas/topics that you believe deserve more attention?

The future of history & philosophy of chemistry looks bright especially given such initiatives as this website! For example, several themes in general philosophy of science deserve more attention from philosophers of chemistry. They include causation, the nature of laws, explanation, reduction, molecular structure, the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, quantum chemistry, natural kinds and once again the question of how to conceptualize elements

6. A recently published paper or book that you would recommend reading?

James Ladyman’s entry on structural realism in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Not all that recent, but it deserves more attention from philosophers of chemistry.  Also, articles by Michele Pizzochero, a young physicist who has published in philosophy of science and in philosophy of chemistry.

Eric Scerri

www.ericscerri.com