For this instalment of Jargonium Asks, we are delighted to interview Marina Paola Banchetti-Robino, Professor of Philosophy at Florida Atlantic University. She specializes in philosophy of language, phenomenology, philosophy of mind, and history and philosophy of science with an emphasis on the history and philosophy of chemistry.
1. How did you get into the history and/or philosophy of chemistry?
In 2011, I was working on a project that traced the paradigm shift in the theory of matter from Renaissance vitalistic perspectives to the early modern mechanistic perspective, which I considered to be entirely reductionistic. As I researched this, I came across work on Robert Boyle that showed that, although he adopted a mechanistic conception of matter, he did not seem to embrace a reductionist view of chemical properties. Intrigued by Boyle’s ideas, I became more and more immersed in the history of early modern chymistry. I wrote a paper on this topic that I presented to the International Society for the Philosophy of Chemistry meeting in Philadelphia and got introduced to the philosophy of chemistry community. I found this community to be very welcoming both of me and of my ideas and I particularly loved the supportive and collaborative atmosphere that I encountered. This led me to become more engrossed in the fundamental questions explored by the philosophy of chemistry and I have not looked back since.
2. What is your favourite question in the history and/or philosophy of chemistry?
I’m very intrigued both by questions pertaining to the emergence of chemical properties and the related questions pertaining to reductionism. Both of the books that I’ve written in the past four years are keenly informed by these questions and examine the way in which chemists from the early modern to the contemporary period have addressed these issue. My most recent book, co-written with Italian chemist Giovanni Villani, recognizes the ontological dependence of chemical properties upon fundamental physical processes but also argues that the emergence of higher level properties, such as chemical ones, is the result of the complexity of molecular structures. In fact, the book treats the emergence of all higher level properties, including consciousness and life itself, as the product of greater and greater levels of complexity, from molecules to macromolecules to cells and so on. We believe that this analysis extends beyond the philosophy of chemistry and into biology, as well as the human and social sciences.
3. What is the value of history and/or philosophy of chemistry?
I’m firmly convinced that there is an inherent value in always understanding the history of, as well as the philosophical and foundational issues raised by, one's discipline and one’s practices. However, to the extent that chemical practices have such a significant impact on our world, from the production of pharmaceuticals to that of nanomaterials, it is imperative to engage with the deep philosophical questions raised by such practices. These, of course, include the ethical concerns of introducing new substances and new materials into our lives but they also include concerns in the philosophy of education, which explore best to teach chemistry to students and how to present highly technical and specialized information to the general public that will be affected by the chemical practice and production.
4. What are you currently working on?
At this time, I am resuming a project that I had set aside in 2014 when I began the manuscript for my first book that was eventually published in 2020. The project that I am resuming is a comprehensive study of the history of science from the vitalistic practices of the Renaissance, including alchemy, to contemporary science. I anticipate that this work will consist of several volumes in which I will examine the various cosmological paradigm shifts that have taken us from the 15th to the 21st century and will argue for the need of a new paradigm shift: one that both embraces the contemporary scientific method and its achievements, as well as a conception of matter as something that is always potentially conscious and alive and a conception of the universe as a complex and unified system that has both intrinsic and aesthetic value. I firmly believe that, such a paradigm shift is necessary if human beings are to successfully overcome modernity’s alienation from nature and the resulting environmental crisis that threatens not only the survival of our species and possible extinction of all life on our planet.
5. How do you envision the future of the field? What are the areas/topics that you believe deserve more attention?
I believe that the philosophy of chemistry will continue to grow and to attract new generations of philosophers of science and of philosophically-inclined chemists. Publications in this field continue to grow year by year and new journals are being created, an example of which is ‘Jargonium’. One of the reasons why I was so attracted to the philosophy of chemistry is that the founders of this discipline were not armchair philosophers but working chemists who were both steeply immersed in chemical practice but also aware of the theoretical and philosophical questions raised by that practice. This aspect of the philosophy of chemistry will continue to attract new generations of intellectuals. I believe that the topics of emergentism and reductionism, which keenly interest me, are being well-addressed. However, it would be wonderful if the ethical issue pertaining to chemical practice and nanomaterials would also become central to the field. As interest in the more abstract and esoteric aspects of philosophy begins to wane, interest in the field of bioethics is on the rise. In fact, faculty position in bioethics and philosophy of mind and AI are the only types of positions that continue to receive funding in universities. Therefore, I truly believe that the philosophy of chemistry would also benefit by drawing attention to the ethical issues raised by chemical practice in the 21st century. This is not simply for the sake of receiving public and institutional support but precisely because the very survival of our species is closely linked to our ability to shape and influence our environment both in positive and negative ways. In this regard, the role of chemistry is fundamental.
6. A recently published paper or book that you would recommend reading?
The book that comes to mind is not recent, if by recent we mean published in 2023 or 2024, but it is nevertheless a book that I would highly recommend to anyone who wishes to understand the fundamental concerns of and importance of the philosophy of chemistry. The book is Of Minds and Molecules: New Philosophical Perspectives on Chemistry (Oxford University Press, 2000) and includes essays by some of the luminary chemists and philosophers who founded and contributed to the growth of this important field of study, such as Jaap van Brakel, Eric Scerri, Davis Baird, Andrea Woody and Jeffry Ramsey.
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