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On the nature of quantum-chemical entities: the case of electron density.
- Source :
-
Foundations of Chemistry . Apr2023, Vol. 25 Issue 1, p127-139. 13p. - Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- An Aristotelian philosophy of nature offers an alternative to reduction for the conception of the inter-theoretical relationships between molecular chemistry and quantum mechanics. A basic ingredient for such an approach is an ontology of fundamental causal powers, and this work aims to develop such an ontology by drawing on quantum-chemical entities, particularly, the electron density. This notion is central to the Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules, a theory of molecular structure developed by Richard F. W. Bader, which describes molecules and atoms in terms precisely of the electron density. Then, by identifying a philosophical tension in Bader's discourse about the nature of electron density, the work will analyze this central notion in terms of the categorical/dispositional distinction regarding properties. The central idea is that electron density can be conceived as categorical and dispositional at once, and this very characterization can avoid Bader's philosophical tension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *ELECTRON density
*ATOMS in molecules theory
*MOLECULAR theory
*MOLECULAR structure
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 13864238
- Volume :
- 25
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Foundations of Chemistry
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 163295455
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10698-022-09431-0