Representation in Chemistry

Diogenes 37 (147):23-51 (1989)
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Abstract

Chemical structures are among the trademarks of our profession, as surely chemical as flasks, beakers and distillation columns. When someone sees one of us busily scribbling formulas or structures, he or she has no trouble identifying a chemist. Yet these familiar objects, which accompany our work from start to end, from the initial doodlings (Fig. I) to the final polished artwork in a publication (Fig. II), are deceptively simple. They raise interesting and difficult questions about representation. It is the intent of this article to reflect upon molecular graphics.

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reprint Hoffmann, Roald; Laszlo, Pierre (2012) "Representation in chemistry". In Hoffmann, Roald, Roald Hoffmann on the philosophy, art, and science of chemistry, pp. : Oxford University Press (2012)

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Citations of this work

Towards a Philosophy of Chemistry.Joachim Schummer - 1997 - Journal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 28 (2):307 - 336.
On the neglect of the philosophy of chemistry.J. van Brakel - 1999 - Foundations of Chemistry 1 (2):111-174.
Content, design, and representation in chemistry.Grant Fisher - 2017 - Foundations of Chemistry 19 (1):17-28.

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