The Hidden History of Phlogiston

February 19, 2021 Jeremiah Hendren

The Hidden History of Phlogiston

Chang, Hasok
HYLE–International journal for philosophy of chemistry 16, no. 2 (2010): 47-79

Many historians of science have felt for some time that standard philosophical doctrines about the nature and development of science are not adequate for representing the real history of science. This is one of the major obstacles standing in the way of productive collaboration between historians and philosophers of science. I would like to turn the historians’ frustration on its head: when philosophers of science fail to make sense of certain historical events, that may not always be the philosophers’ fault; it is possible that there is something wrong with the accepted historical descriptions of those events, precluding any sensible explanation of why they took place. If that is the case, philosophical failure can serve usefully as a guide for improving historiography. From this point of view, we can easily see that historians and philosophers of science will have much to talk to each other about, because these philosophical failures are quite abundant!

Hasok Chang

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