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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2009  > May  >
Chemical Education Today
Commentary
Can Reaction Mechanisms Be Proven?
Allen Buskirk and Hediyeh Baradaran
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602
Cover
May 2009
Vol. 86 No. 5
p. 551

Abstract
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 We argue that this is an outdated philosophy of science that does not accurately describe the practice of chemistry today.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.

A Note from the Editor: A Discussion

"Can Reaction Mechanisms Be Proven?" generated spirited responses from its reviewers. The reviews were approximately evenly divided, and all were of very high quality. The authors agreed with the editor’s proposal that the reviewers convert their reviews into rebuttals or affirmations of the authors’ position for publication along with the article, which has been revised based on the reviews. Most agreed to such a process and their comments appear here. We hope that publication of this paper and well-reasoned rebuttals such as those provided here will initiate a wide-ranging discussion. JCE will provide an online forum for further discussion of the issue. Our hope is that both faculty and students will contribute their opinions and ideas to this discussion.

jwm

See Reviewer Comments: Brown Lewis Yoon Wade

More Information
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Citation
Buskirk, Allen; Baradaran, Hediyeh. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 551.
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Keywords
Graduate Education / Research; History / Philosophy; Mechanisms of Reactions; Misconceptions / Discrepant Events; Organic Chemistry; Second-Year Undergraduate; Textbooks / Reference Books; Upper-Division Undergraduate
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History
Created:
Last Updated:
3/17/2009
3/24/2009
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2009  > May  > Page 551


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