Property reduction in chemistry: some lessons.

Abstract

By taking molecules and atoms as models for wholes and parts, I explore the relation between the atomic and molecular properties in this article. Molecular properties do not reduce to atomic properties in the sense the former cannot be obtained by adding or multiplying the latter. However, quantum states of molecules are obtained from the quantum states of atoms by addition and multiplication. Because molecular properties are calculated reliably from the atomic states in quantum theory, it may be claimed that property reduction has been accomplished successfully. I show that such reduction entails underlying holism.