ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the historical development of chemistry, surveying seven key episodes dating from the 1790s to the 1980s: the chemical revolution, chemical atomism, the emergence of the periodic system, structure theory, the instrumental revolution, the application of quantum mechanics to chemistry, and the discovery of quasi-crystals. It is argued that chemistry has developed cumulatively, in the sense that theoretical claims about the composition and structure of particular substances tend to be retained, and enriched and deepened by further research, rather than being radically revised or reinterpreted. The development of the general theoretical frameworks for understanding composition and structure has also been cumulative, with new frameworks tending to be conservative extensions of previous approaches. The relationship of this cumulative development to the problem-solving and epistemic conceptions of progress in science is also explored.
