Eric Scerri
Eric Scerri
| Eric Scerri | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Westfield College, (University of London); University of Cambridge; University of Southampton; King's College London |
| Website | http://www.ericscerri.com/ |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry; logic, history and philosophy of science, chemistry and the periodic table; chemical education |
| Institutions | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Influences | Karl Popper;Heinz Post |
Eric R. Scerri is a chemist, writer and philosopher of science, of Maltese origin. [10] He is a lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles; and the founder and editor-in-chief of *Foundations of Chemistry *, an international peer reviewed journal covering the history and philosophy of chemistry, and chemical education. [11] [12]
He is a world authority on the history and philosophy of the periodic table and is the author and editor of several books in this and related fields. Dr. Scerri was a participant in the 2014 PBS documentary film, *The Mystery of Matter *.
Dr Scerri received his BSc from Westfield College (University of London), his Certificate in Postgraduate Study from the University of Cambridge, his MPhil from the University of Southampton, and his PhD from King's College London. [12]
Scerri's research has mainly been in the history and philosophy of chemistry, in particular on the question of the extent to which chemistry reduces to quantum mechanics.
He has specialized in the study of the periodic table of the elements, including its historical origins and its philosophical significance.
More recent writings have included critiques of claims for the emergence of chemistry and the existence of downward causation.
In addition to historical and philosophical work Scerri has published numerous articles in the chemical education literature, including accounts of the electronic structures of transition metals and the occurrence of anomalous electronic configurations.
In 2013 Scerri published a book entitled A Tale of Seven Elements in which he examined such themes as priority debates while recounting the story of the discovery of the remaining seven elements within what he calls the infra-uranium elements.
Most recently he has proposed a new evolutionary approach to the philosophy of science that is based on seven case studies on little known scientists such as John Nicholson, Anton Van den Broek and Edmund Stoner.
Scerri has argued that these lesser known figures are just as significant as the heroic personalities in that they constitute the missing gaps in a gradual evolutionary and organic growth in the body of scientific knowledge.
Although Scerri rejects the occurrence of scientific revolutions as envisioned by Thomas Kuhn he very much supports Kuhn's notion that scientific progress is non-teleological and that there is no approach towards an external truth.
| Eric Scerri | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Westfield College, (University of London); University of Cambridge; University of Southampton; King's College London |
| Website | http://www.ericscerri.com/ |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry; logic, history and philosophy of science, chemistry and the periodic table; chemical education |
| Institutions | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Influences | Karl Popper;Heinz Post |
Publications (recent and notable)
Books
Scerri E & G, Restrepo, 2018, From Mendeleev to Oganesson, Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 978-0190668532
Scerri E, 2016, A Tale of Seven Scientists, and a New Philosophy of Science, Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 978-0190232993
—— & Fisher G, 2016, Essays in the Philosophy of Chemistry Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 9780190494599
—— & McIntyre L, 2015, Philosophy of Chemistry: Growth of a New Discipline, Springer, Dordrecht, Berlin, ISBN 978-94-017-9364-3
—— 2013, A tale of seven elements, Oxford University Press, Oxford, ISBN 9780195391312
—— 2013 (ed.), 30-second elements: The 50 most significant elements, each explained in half a minute, Metro Books, New York, ISBN 9781435145214
—— 2011, The periodic table: A very short introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford, ISBN 9780199582495
—— 2009, Selected papers on the periodic table, Imperial College Press, London, ISBN 9781848164253
—— 2008, Collected papers on philosophy of chemistry, Imperial College Press, London, ISBN 9781848161375
—— 2007, The periodic table: Its story and its significance, Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 9780195305739
—— & Baird D, McIntyre L, 2006, Philosophy of Chemistry: Synthesis of a New Discipline, Springer, Dordrecht, ISBN 1402032560
Articles
—— 2017, The Gulf Between Chemistry and Philosophy of Chemistry, Then and Now, Structural Chemistry, 28, 1599-1605, 2017.
—— 2017, On the Madelung Rule, Response to Marc Henry’s “Super-Saturated Chemistry”, Inference (on-line inter-disciplinary journal), March, 2017.
—— 2017, El descubrimiento de la tabla periódica como un caso de descubrimiento simultáneo, Epistemologia e Historia de la Ciencia (Argentina), 1, 2.
—— 2016, 'The Changing Views of a Philosopher of Chemistry on the Question of Reduction', in E.R. Scerri, G. Fisher eds., Essays in the Philosophy of Chemistry, Oxford University Press, New York
—— 2016, Which Elements Belong to Group 3 of the Periodic Table, Chemistry International, Volume 38, Issue 2, Pages 22–23, March, 2016.
—— 2014, ', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, vol. 373, no. 2037
—— 2013, ', Education in Chemistry, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 24–26
—— 2012, ', Chemistry International, vol. 34, no. 4
—— 2010, ', Royal Society of Chemistry, viewed 30 December 2013
—— 2009, ', Chemistry World, March, pp. 46–49
—— 2007, ', Hyle, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 67–81
—— 2007, ', Education in Chemistry, January, pp. 13–17
—— 2007, ', "Philosophy of Science," 74, pp. 920–931
—— 2005, ', Hyle, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 127–145
—— 2003, ', Chemical & Engineering News, vol. 81, no. 36, p. 138, doi :
—— 2003, ', Chemistry International, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 6–8
—— & Worrall J 2001, ', Studies in history and philosophy of science, 32, no. 3, pp. 407–452
—— 2001, ', Philosophy of Science, 68, (proceedings), pp. S76–S78
—— 1997, 'Erkenntnis, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 229–243
—— & McIntyre L 1997, ', Synthese, vol. 111, pp. 213–232
—— 1994, ', Philosophy of Science, PSA Proceedings, vol. 1, pp. 160–170
—— 1991, ', Journal of Chemical Education, vol. 68, no. 2, pp. 122–126
—— 1991, ', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 309–325
—— 1986, ', Journal of Chemical Education, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 106–107
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Dr. Eric Scerri is a chemist, author and leading historian and philosopher of science, specialising in the periodic table of the chemical elements.
He is the author of "The Periodic Table, Its Story and Its Significance" (Oxford University Press, 2007) and numerous additional books on this and related topics.