Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-v5vhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-17T15:24:50.205Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Visual Representations in Science

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

William Goodwin
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper evaluates a general argument for the conclusion that visual representations in science must play the role of truth bearers if they are to figure as legitimate contributors to scientific arguments and explanations. The argument is found to be unsound. An alternative approach to assessing the role of visual representations in science is exemplified by an examination of the role of structural formulas in organic chemistry. Structural formulas are found not to play the role of truth bearers; nonetheless, they contribute to the arguments and explanations of organic chemistry. An early success of conformational analysis is presented in order to illustrate the role of structural formulas in the discourse of organic chemistry.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 76 , Issue 3 , July 2009 , pp. 372 - 390
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barton, D. H. R. (1969), “The Principles of Conformational Analysis”, Nobel Lecture, http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1969/barton-lecture.html.Google Scholar
Benfey, O. T. (1964), From Vital Force to Structural Formulas. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Brock, William H. (2000), The Chemical Tree: A History of Chemistry. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Evans, Gareth (1982), The Varieties of Reference. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Giere, Ronald N. (1999), “Using Models to Represent Reality”, in Magnani, L., Nersessian, N., and Thagard, P. (eds.), Model Based Reasoning in Scientific Discovery. New York: Kluwer.Google Scholar
Giere, Ronald N. (2004), “How Models Are Used to Represent Reality”, How Models Are Used to Represent Reality 71:242–52.Google Scholar
Goodman, Nelson (1976), Languages of Art: An Approach to a Theory of Symbols. Indiana: Hackett.Google Scholar
Goodwin, William (2003), “Explanation in Organic Chemistry”, Explanation in Organic Chemistry 988:141–153.Google ScholarPubMed
Goodwin, William (2008), “Structural Formulas and Explanation in Organic Chemistry”, Structural Formulas and Explanation in Organic Chemistry 10:117–127.Google Scholar
Malinas, G. (1991), “A Semantics for Pictures”, A Semantics for Pictures 21:275–298.Google Scholar
Perini, Laura (2005), “The Truth in Pictures”, The Truth in Pictures 72:262–285.Google Scholar
Rossini, F., and Pitzer, K. (1947), “Relabeling of the Cis and Trans Isomers of 1,3-Dimethylcyclohexane”, Relabeling of the Cis and Trans Isomers of 1,3-Dimethylcyclohexane 105:647–648.Google ScholarPubMed
Streitwieser, Andrew, and Heathcock, Clayton (1981), Introduction to Organic Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Vollhardt, K., and Schore, N. (1994), Organic Chemistry. 2nd ed. New York: W. H. Freeman.Google Scholar