Abstract
This symposium investigates the relationships between the concepts of standard chemistry (e.g. bonds or molecular structure) and quantum mechanical reconstructions of these ideas. Though in many cases there is no straightforward reduction of these standard concepts into quantum mechanical terms, still quantum mechanics, through the interfield theory of quantum chemistry, has had a profound impact on the development of standard chemistry. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms by which, and the constraints under which, quantum mechanics can be recast and assimilated with standard chemical concepts is crucial to appreciating how these conceptually distinct practices have managed to interact so fruitfully. This fruitful interaction and its philosophical implications are thus the proposed focus of this symposium.
