Sensual Chemistry: Aesthetics as a Motivation for Research

A paper which matches the topic of Ostwald’s work on the “Harmony of Forms”:

Sensual Chemistry: Aesthetics as a Motivation for Research

Abstract: Sensual, aesthetic, and even artistic considerations are an important motivation for general interest in chemistry and the development of specific research problems. Examples are given showing how these considerations have been put into play by many eminent physical, theoretical, and synthetic chemists. It is argued that more attention needs to be given to sensual and aesthetic issues in understanding how chemical discoveries are made and in order to better teach the subject.

The author Robert Root-Bernstein also wrote a short paper with the title “Wilhelm ostwald and the science of art”, in: Leornardo : Journal of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology , 39 (2006) p. 418


Robert Root-Bernstein, Sensual Chemistry – Aesthetics as a Motivation for Research, in: HYLE–International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry, Vol. 9, No.1 (2003), pp. 33-50