Social Aspects in the Emergence of Chemistry as an Exact Science: The British Chemical Profession

Abstract

The literature on the growth of scientific disciplines and ideas traces the typical pattern as a long preliminary period dating back to pre-recorded time with sporadic activities not characterized by sustained growth, followed by acceleration which eventually slows down and a ceiling is approached.' The historian of ideas would examine the qualities and internal structure of a given idea itself and, in the case of chemistry, discussion of the theory of phlogiston has proved an extensive field. The present analytical approach differs however, and asks the question: What happened in a given time and place that caused the communication of ideas in a particular discipline to become significantly effective? It is assumed that (i) ideas necessary for the emergence of a new discipline are usually available over a comparatively long period of time and in various places; (ii) only some of these embryos continue in further growth; (iii) such growth occurs in time and place because individuals become interested in the new idea, not onlyfor its intellectual content but also as a means to the end of a new intellectual identity and, even more importantly, a new occupational role;2 and (iv) the conditions under which such interest emerges can be identified and form the basis for building a predictive theory. Chemical ideas have existed since prehistory but there have been long lapses, when growth has been inhibited. Chemical investigations have been pursued and written about in many languages; with the growth of