Ideological, Political, and Philosophical Foundations of Science and Industrial Policy of the German Green Party in the 1980 and 1990: the Case of “Soft Chemistry” (Sanfte Chemie)
Sanfte Chemie, or soft chemistry, is a scientific and philosophical concept developed in the 1980s under the auspices of the German Green Party (Die Grünen). Its purpose was to thoroughly reconstruct not only the chemical industry but also chemistry as a science in the spirit of environmentalism. S...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences
2023-10-01
|
| Series: | Studia Historiae Scientiarum |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ojs.ejournals.eu/SHS/article/view/8843 |
| _version_ | 1827387195922579456 |
|---|---|
| author | Marcin Krasnodębski |
| author_facet | Marcin Krasnodębski |
| author_sort | Marcin Krasnodębski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Sanfte Chemie, or soft chemistry, is a scientific and philosophical concept developed in the 1980s under the auspices of the German Green Party (Die Grünen). Its purpose was to thoroughly reconstruct not only the chemical industry but also chemistry as a science in the spirit of environmentalism. Soft chemistry followers wanted to forge a new scientific method and criticized what they called a Baconian-Cartesian paradigm in the philosophy of science. Even though the sanfte Chemie project ceased to be endorsed by the Green Party in the 1990s because of its radicalism, the history of epistemological foundations, on which the soft chemistry was built, gives us a privileged insight into a vision of chemical sciences as advocated by early proponents of sustainability and pioneers of environmental movements.
The article analyses sources of sanfte Chemie, highlighting plurality and complexity of scientific, philosophical, political and ideological traditions that served as its basis. The study of the eco-critical narratives on empirical sciences allows us to better understand subsequent political choices concerning science, industry and the environment in Germany. In particular, the article shows that the tradition on which sanfte Chemie was built, gives it the advantage over later concepts, such as green chemistry, that lack philosophical depth.
The purpose of the article is to question the relation between the philosophy of science and the practice of science and ponder whether different chemistry is possible at all.
|
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:57:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-455d94765f5d4d02a3b628db6cda333e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2451-3202 2543-702X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:57:26Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Studia Historiae Scientiarum |
| spelling | doaj.art-455d94765f5d4d02a3b628db6cda333e2024-01-08T15:33:31ZengPolish Academy of Arts and SciencesStudia Historiae Scientiarum2451-32022543-702X2023-10-012210.4467/2543702XSHS.23.015.17706Ideological, Political, and Philosophical Foundations of Science and Industrial Policy of the German Green Party in the 1980 and 1990: the Case of “Soft Chemistry” (Sanfte Chemie)Marcin Krasnodębski0Instytut Historii Nauki im. Ludwika i Aleksandra Birkenmajerów Polskiej Akademii Nauk Sanfte Chemie, or soft chemistry, is a scientific and philosophical concept developed in the 1980s under the auspices of the German Green Party (Die Grünen). Its purpose was to thoroughly reconstruct not only the chemical industry but also chemistry as a science in the spirit of environmentalism. Soft chemistry followers wanted to forge a new scientific method and criticized what they called a Baconian-Cartesian paradigm in the philosophy of science. Even though the sanfte Chemie project ceased to be endorsed by the Green Party in the 1990s because of its radicalism, the history of epistemological foundations, on which the soft chemistry was built, gives us a privileged insight into a vision of chemical sciences as advocated by early proponents of sustainability and pioneers of environmental movements. The article analyses sources of sanfte Chemie, highlighting plurality and complexity of scientific, philosophical, political and ideological traditions that served as its basis. The study of the eco-critical narratives on empirical sciences allows us to better understand subsequent political choices concerning science, industry and the environment in Germany. In particular, the article shows that the tradition on which sanfte Chemie was built, gives it the advantage over later concepts, such as green chemistry, that lack philosophical depth. The purpose of the article is to question the relation between the philosophy of science and the practice of science and ponder whether different chemistry is possible at all. https://ojs.ejournals.eu/SHS/article/view/8843history of chemistryhistory of sustainabilitygreen chemistrysustainable chemistrycritical theoryscience policy |
| spellingShingle | Marcin Krasnodębski Ideological, Political, and Philosophical Foundations of Science and Industrial Policy of the German Green Party in the 1980 and 1990: the Case of “Soft Chemistry” (Sanfte Chemie) Studia Historiae Scientiarum history of chemistry history of sustainability green chemistry sustainable chemistry critical theory science policy |
| title | Ideological, Political, and Philosophical Foundations of Science and Industrial Policy of the German Green Party in the 1980 and 1990: the Case of “Soft Chemistry” (Sanfte Chemie) |
| title_full | Ideological, Political, and Philosophical Foundations of Science and Industrial Policy of the German Green Party in the 1980 and 1990: the Case of “Soft Chemistry” (Sanfte Chemie) |
| title_fullStr | Ideological, Political, and Philosophical Foundations of Science and Industrial Policy of the German Green Party in the 1980 and 1990: the Case of “Soft Chemistry” (Sanfte Chemie) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ideological, Political, and Philosophical Foundations of Science and Industrial Policy of the German Green Party in the 1980 and 1990: the Case of “Soft Chemistry” (Sanfte Chemie) |
| title_short | Ideological, Political, and Philosophical Foundations of Science and Industrial Policy of the German Green Party in the 1980 and 1990: the Case of “Soft Chemistry” (Sanfte Chemie) |
| title_sort | ideological political and philosophical foundations of science and industrial policy of the german green party in the 1980 and 1990 the case of soft chemistry sanfte chemie |
| topic | history of chemistry history of sustainability green chemistry sustainable chemistry critical theory science policy |
| url | https://ojs.ejournals.eu/SHS/article/view/8843 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marcinkrasnodebski ideologicalpoliticalandphilosophicalfoundationsofscienceandindustrialpolicyofthegermangreenpartyinthe1980and1990thecaseofsoftchemistrysanftechemie |