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Has Daltonian Atomism Provided Chemistry with Any Explanations?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Paul Needham
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Abstract

Philosophers frequently cite Dalton's chemical atomism, and its nineteenth century developments, as a prime example of inference to the best explanation. This was a controversial issue in its time. But the critics are dismissed as positivist-inspired antirealists with no interest in explanation. Is this a reasonable assessment?

Type
Causation and Explanation in Chemistry
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 71 , Issue 5: Proceedings of the 2002 Biennial Meeting of The Philosophy of Science Association. Part II: Symposia Papers , December 2004 , pp. 1038 - 1047
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 by the Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

‡

I am grateful to Michael Weisberg and Robin Hendry for helpful comments on an earlier version. Research on which the paper is based was supported by The Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation.

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