Pure Possibilities and Some Striking Scientific Discoveries

In this Chapter, I demonstrate, on the grounds of panenmentalism, how some of the most fascinating scientific discoveries in chemistry could not have been accomplished without relying on the knowledge of individual pure possibilities and the ways in which they relate to one another (for instance, in theoretical models). The discoveries include the following: Dan Shechtman’s discovery of quasicrystals; Linus Pauling’s alpha helix; the discovery of F. Sherwood Rowland and Mario J. Molina concerning the destruction of the atmospheric ozone layer; and Neil Bartlett’s noble gas compounds. On the grounds of the analysis of these cases, actualism must fail, whereas panenmentalism, at least as a philosophy of science, gains more support.