Can Reaction Mechanisms Be Proven?
- Autores: Allen Buskirk, Hediyeh Baradaran
- Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 86, Nº. 5 (May), 2009, págs. 551-551
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
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Resumen
Organic chemistry textbooks commonly teach that reaction mechanisms can never be proven. We argue that this is an outdated philosophy of science that does not accurately describe the practice of chemistry today. Chemists obtain evidence to confirm their theories, not merely to refute them, and have accumulated an impressive body of mechanistic knowledge over the decades. Progress has accelerated in recent years because of technological advances that allow reaction intermediates to be observed directly. Yet textbooks continue to teach that mechanisms can only be proven false. Not only does this approach fail to reflect current practice, it also limits the possibilities for new generations of chemists by denying the value of supporting evidence. Students should be open to the option of designing experiments to confirm a mechanistic proposal and not be constrained by a theoretical approach that maintains that only falsifying experiments have value. Chemists should be free to use evidence to either support or disprove mechanistic hypotheses. Mechanisms can be proven on a practical basis to the same extent as other scientific theories can be.
