Pierre Duhem's (1861–1916) lifelong opposition to 19th century atomic theories of matter has been traditionally attributed to his conventionalist and/or positivist philosophy of science. Relatively recently, this traditional view position has been challenged by the claim that Duhem's opposition to atomism was due to the precarious state of atomic theories during the beginning of the 20th century. In this paper I present some of the difficulties with both the traditional and the new interpretation of Duhem's opposition to atomism and provide a new framework in which to understand his rejection of atomic hypotheses. I argue that although not positivist, instrumentalist, or conventionalist, Duhem's philosophy of physics was not compatible with belief in unobservable atoms and molecules. The key for understanding Duhem's resistance to atomism during the final phase of his career is the historicist arguments he presented in support of his ideal of physics.
...MoreArticle Theodore Arabatzis; Don Howard (2015) Introduction: Integrated History and Philosophy of Science in Practice. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science (pp. 1-3).
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Sonia Maria Dion;
(2018)
Natural Classification and Pierre Duhem's Historical Work: Which Relationships?
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Marco Buzzoni;
(2018)
Ernst Mach interprete di Pierre Duhem. Valore e limiti della sperimentazione mentale
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Sindhuja Bhakthavatsalam;
(2015)
The Rationale Behind Pierre Duhem's Natural Classification
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Maas, A. J. P.;
(2001)
Atomisme en individualisme: De Amsterdamse natuurkunde tusen 1877 en 1940
(/isis/citation/CBB000101548/)
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Zwier, Karen R.;
(2011)
Dalton's Chemical Atoms versus Duhem's Chemical Equivalents
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Robert Hudson;
(2020)
What Was Perrin Really Doing in His Proof of the Reality of Atoms?
(/isis/citation/CBB449145782/)
Article
Klodian Coko;
(2020)
Jean Perrin and the Philosophers’ Stories: The Role of Multiple Determination in Determining Avogadro’s Number
(/isis/citation/CBB808298568/)
Chapter
Pierre–Michel Vauthelin;
(2017)
Duhem et la thermodynamique française de la fin du XIXe siècle
(/isis/citation/CBB074154000/)
Book
Mirella Fortino;
(2017)
Pierre Duhem: Verità, ragione e metodo
(/isis/citation/CBB718409602/)
Article
Brenner, Anastasios;
Needham, Paul;
Stump, David J.;
Deltete, Robert;
(2011)
New Perspectives on Pierre Duhem's The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory
(/isis/citation/CBB001032933/)
Chapter
Stefano Bordoni;
(2017)
Pierre Duhem 1891-1896. Dalla fisica teorica alla storia e filosofia della scienza
(/isis/citation/CBB719226825/)
Chapter
Jean-François Stoffel;
(2017)
L’interprétation de l’«affaire Galilée» élaborée par Paul Mansion a–t–elle influencé Pierre Duhem?
(/isis/citation/CBB304403940/)
Article
Achinstein, Peter;
(2007)
Atom's Empirical Eve: Methodological Disputes and How to Evaluate Them
(/isis/citation/CBB000830786/)
Chapter
Francesco Calemi;
(2017)
Sottodeterminazione e leggi di natura: Osservazioni sulla tesi Duhem–Quine
(/isis/citation/CBB568450738/)
Article
Brakel, Jaap van;
(2013)
František Wald's Empiricism
(/isis/citation/CBB001320765/)
Chapter
Ariew, Roger;
(2007)
Pierre Duhem et “l'esprit allemand”
(/isis/citation/CBB001022511/)
Article
João Príncipe;
(2017)
Poincaré and Duhem: Resonances in their First Epistemological Reflections
(/isis/citation/CBB416422075/)
Thesis
Darling, Karen Merikangas;
(2002)
Pierre Duhem's Philosophy of Science
(/isis/citation/CBB001562511/)
Chapter
Gereon Wolters;
(2018)
Mach e la relatività: una storia infinita ambientata a HOPOSia?
(/isis/citation/CBB146853924/)
Article
Paul Needham;
(2017)
Was Duhem Justified in not Distinguishing Between Physical and Chemical Atomism?
(/isis/citation/CBB592640735/)
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