We Have Never Been Whiggish (About Phlogiston)¹

Abstract

Abstract. If whiggism involves judging past scientific theories according to our modern standards, not many people have been properly whiggish about the Chemical Revolution. From a modern perspective, Lavoisier's theory is just as wrong as advanced versions of the phlogiston theory. Three of the central pillars of Lavoisier's system are clearly at odds with modern chemistry: the oxygen theory of acidity, the caloric theory of heat (which also explained the three states of matter), and the theory of combustion (especially with regard to the production of heat and light). On the other hand, if we examine Lavoisier's lasting contributions, we find that various phlogistonists anticipated or outdid Lavoisier (e.g. Cavendish on precise weight measurements, and Priestley on the role of oxygen in combustion and physiology). The real problem with the much‐reviled traditional historiography of the Chemical Revolution (and of much else) is not whiggism, but a crude triumphalism, which unreflectively continues to celebrate what was once victorious in the past. The misidentification of this triumphalism as whiggism has confounded critics, sending them off into a total renunciation of judgement regarding the scientific merits of past ideas. I propose a two‐part corrective to this misguided critique. First, the most straightforward and effective antidote to triumphalism is a historiographical pluralism that pays conscious attention to the losers. Second, and more broadly, there is much to be gained from an ‘independent judgementalism’ in historiography, which restores the role of the historian as a responsible free agent.

Inevitability, contingency, and epistemic humility

“…16 See, e.g., Radick (2012Radick ( , 2013 and Radick and Jamieson (in press). 17 See, e.g., Chang (2009Chang ( , 2010. 18 A good example is Radick's ongoing 'Genetics Pedagogies Project', which uses a specially developed counterfactual undergraduate biology syllabus to explore how students' sense of the inevitability of deterministic biologies can be affected by curricular changes and pedagogical practice.…”

Teaching the nature of science through scientific errors

“…They betray efforts to bolster the pristine image of scientific authority. By disregarding historical context, they oversimplify and idealize science (Allchin, 2003a; Butterfield, 1959; Chang, 2009). Through anachronistic judgments, they eclipse the inherent uncertainty of science at any given moment, misportraying a key feature of NOS.…”

The Persistence of Epistemic Objects Through Scientific Change

“…For further details, seeChang (2009b),Chang (2010), and Chang(2012), chapter 1. Persistence of Epistemic Objects 415…”