Do molecules have structure? The view from quantum physics

Join us for the inaugural BSPS Popper Prize lecture, delivered by philosophers of science Alexander Franklin and Vanessa Seifert.

We learn from a young age that molecules have particular structures – these are the ball and stick models beloved of chemists: water is H2O and has a V-shape, methane is a pyramid, and diamonds are networks of tetrahedra. Molecular structure is used to explain reactivity, biological function, and even colour. However, if we attempt to develop a quantum physical account of structure from first principles, there is no apparent structure to be found. Chemists and philosophers of chemistry have named this puzzle ‘the problem of molecular structure’. In their prize-winning paper philosophers Vanessa Seifert and Alexander Franklin argued that this puzzle can be solved by any account that settles the long-standing quandary of Schrödinger’s cat! In this talk they’ll set out aspects of their research that illuminate the fundamental nature of the puzzling and bizarre quantum world.

Meet our speakers and chair

Alexander Franklin is a senior lecturer in philosophy of science at King’s College London. His research aims to understand how the world fits together. His overall goal is to articulate a detailed, science-informed alternative to the lego-brick model – to show how reality is structured without assuming that its parts resemble toy models. His upcoming book The Emergence of the Classical World from Quantum Physics will be published by Cambridge University Press.

Vanessa Seifert (@vanessaseifert.bsky.social) is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Athens. Her research initially revolved around chemistry's relation to quantum physics and has now extended to include scientific realism, causation, natural kinds, and – more recently – the philosophy of AI. Her first book, Chemistry’s Metaphysics, was published in 2023 with Cambridge University Press. Her general approach is to investigate standard issues in the philosophy of science from the perspective of chemistry.

Ali Boyle is an associate professor in philosophy at LSE. She works in the philosophy of cognitive science and biology and spends most of her time thinking about how nonhuman animals think. She is a committee member of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science.

More about this event

The Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method (@lsephilosophy.bsky.social) was founded by Karl Popper in 1946 and is internationally renowned for a type of philosophy that is both continuous with the sciences and socially relevant.

The British Society for the Philosophy of Science (@thebsps.bsky.social) is a professional organisation which furthers the study of the logic, methods and philosophy of science in the UK. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (BJPS) is the Society’s journal, and its Editors, in conjunction with the BSPS Committee, awards the BJPS Popper Prize annually to the best paper published in BJPS in the preceding year. The winning authors are invited to deliver the BJPS Popper Prize Lecture.

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