Eric Scerri
Eric R. Scerri is a Maltese-born chemist, writer and philosopher of science. He is a lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles; and the founder and editor-in-chief of Foundations of Chemistry, an international peer reviewed journal covering the history and philosophy of chemistry, and chemical education.
He is a world authority on the history and philosophy of the periodic table and is the author and editor of several books in this and related fields. Dr. Scerri was a participant in the 2014 PBS documentary film, The Mystery of Matter.
Eric Scerri attended Walpole Grammar School in Ealing. He received his BSc from Westfield College, his Certificate in Postgraduate Study from the University of Cambridge, his MPhil from the University of Southampton, and his PhD from King's College London.
Research interests
Scerri's research has mainly been in the history and philosophy of chemistry, in particular on the question of the extent to which chemistry reduces to quantum mechanics. He has specialized in the study of the periodic table of the elements, including its historical origins and its philosophical significance. More recent writings have included critiques of claims for the emergence of chemistry and the existence of downward causation.In addition to historical and philosophical work Scerri has published numerous articles in the chemical education literature, including accounts of the electronic structures of transition metals and the occurrence of anomalous electronic configurations.
In A Tale of Seven Elements Scerri recounts the story of the discovery of the seven elements missing from the periodic table shortly after the turn of the 20th century, including the setbacks, misguided claims, and sometimes acrimonious priority debates and disputes.
In December 2015, Scerri was appointed by IUPAC as the chair of a project that will make a recommendation on the composition of group 3—whether it should be the elements Sc, Y, La and Ac; or Sc, Y, Lu and Lr.
Most recently he proposed a new evolutionary approach to the philosophy of science based on seven case studies of little known scientists such as John Nicholson, Anton Van den Broek and Edmund Stoner. Scerri has argued that these lesser known figures are just as significant as the heroic personalities in that they constitute the missing gaps in a gradual evolutionary and organic growth in the body of scientific knowledge. Although he rejects the occurrence of scientific revolutions as envisioned by Thomas Kuhn, Scerri very much supports Kuhn's notion that scientific progress is non-teleological and that there is no approach towards an external truth.
Second editions of Scerri's two most cited books were published in 2019 and 2020.
Publications
Books
- 2020, What is an Element?, co-edited with E. Ghibaudi, Oxford University Press, New York,
- 2020, The Periodic Table, Its Story and Its Significance, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, New York,
- 2019, A Very Short Introduction to the Periodic Table, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, New York,
- 2018, Mendeleev to Oganesson: A Multidisciplinary Perspective on the Periodic Table, with co-editor G Restrepo, Oxford University Press, New York,
- 2016, A Tale of Seven Scientists, and a New Philosophy of Science, Oxford University Press, New York,
- 2016, Essays in the Philosophy of Chemistry, with coauthor Fisher G Oxford University Press, New York,
- 2015, Philosophy of Chemistry: Growth of a New Discipline, with coauthors McIntyre L & Springer, Dordrecht, Berlin,
- 2013, A tale of seven elements, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
- 2013., 30-second elements: The 50 most significant elements, each explained in half a minute, as editor, Metro Books, New York,
- 2011, The periodic table: A very short introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
- 2009, Selected papers on the periodic table, Imperial College Press, London,
- 2008, Collected papers on philosophy of chemistry, Imperial College Press, London,
- 2007, The periodic table: Its story and its significance, Oxford University Press, New York,
- 2006, Philosophy of Chemistry: Synthesis of a New Discipline, with coauthors Baird D & McIntyre L, Springer, Dordrecht,
Articles
- 2020, 'The Periodic Table and the Turn to Practice', Studies in History and Philosophy of Science A, 79, 87-93.
- 2019, 'Happy Sesquicentennial to the Periodic Table', Scientific American, January 22nd.
- idem, 'Looking backwards and forwards at the development of the periodic table', Chemistry International, January-March, 16-20.
- idem, 'Happy 150th Birthday to the Periodic Table', Chemistry A European Journal, 25, 7410–7415.
- idem, 'Five ideas in chemical education that must die', Foundations of Chemistry, 21,61–69.
- idem, 'Can Quantum Ideas Explain Chemistry’s Greatest Icon?' Nature, 565, 557-558.
- 2018, , The Rutherford Journal, vol. 5
- idem., 'What Elements Belong in Group 3?', with coauthor Parsons W, in E R Scerri & G Restrepo, Mendeleev to Oganesson, Oxford University Press, New York.
- 2017, 'The Gulf Between Chemistry and Philosophy of Chemistry, Then and Now', Structural Chemistry, 28, 1599-1605, 2017.
- idem., 'On the Madelung Rule', response to Marc Henry's “Super-Saturated Chemistry”, , March.
- idem., 'El descubrimiento de la tabla periódica como un caso de descubrimiento simultáneo', Epistemologia e Historia de la Ciencia, 1, 2.
- 2016, 'The Changing Views of a Philosopher of Chemistry on the Question of Reduction', in E R Scerri & G Fisher, Essays in the Philosophy of Chemistry, Oxford University Press, New York
- idem., 'Which Elements Belong to Group 3 of the Periodic Table', Chemistry International, Volume 38, Issue 2, Pages 22–23, March, 2016.
- 2014, ', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, vol. 373, no. 2037
- 2013, ', Education in Chemistry, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 24–26
- 2012, ', Chemistry International, vol. 34, no. 4
- 2010, ', Royal Society of Chemistry, viewed 30 December 2013
- 2009, ', Chemistry World, March, pp. 46–49
- 2007, ', Hyle, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 67–81
- idem., ', Education in Chemistry, January, pp. 13–17
- idem., ', "Philosophy of Science," 74, pp. 920–931
- 2005, ', Hyle, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 127–145
- 2003, ', Chemical & Engineering News, vol. 81, no. 36, p. 138,
- idem., ', Chemistry International, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 6–8
- 2001, ', with coauthor Worrall J, Studies in history and philosophy of science, 32, no. 3, pp. 407–452
- idem., ', Philosophy of Science, 68,, pp. S76–S78
- 1997, ' Erkenntnis, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 229–243
- idem., ', with coauthor, McIntyre L, Synthese, vol. 111, pp. 213–232
- 1994, ', Philosophy of Science, PSA Proceedings, vol. 1, pp. 160–170
- 1991, ', Journal of Chemical Education, vol. 68, no. 2, pp. 122–126
- idem., ', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 309–325
- 1986, ', Journal of Chemical Education,'' vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 106–107