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When philosophers investigate molecular concepts to determine whether particular accounts of molecules are satisfactory, they face a methodological challenge: they must make assumptions regarding the role(s) such concepts are intended to play. I suggest recognizing a distinction between explanatory ...

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, sti...

In quantum mechanics no specific molecular structure is assigned from first principles. Franklin and Seifert (2020) argue that this is due to the measurement problem. I explore the implications of this to the metaphysical understanding of structure. Specifically, I propose two metaphysical views: th...

Does quantum mechanics accommodate chemical intuitions about bonds, or sweep them away in favour of something new? In this paper I look at foundational issues arising for two revisionary efforts to embed the chemical bond into quantum mechanics. Energy and structure: Since the 1930s, a standard way ...