Scientific American Supplement, No. 286, June 25, 1881Various
Science
Scientific American Supplement, No. 286, June 25, 1881
Various
Science -- Periodicals
The reproach that Berthelot has been endeavoring for nearly a quarter of
a century to hold back the progress of scientific chemistry, is a great
and unjustifiable misrepresentation of the distinguished chemist
and member of the Institute of France, who has done so much for
thermo-chemistry, and the more unfortunate as it seems to serve only the
purpose of a prelude to the following sentences: "But Mr. Vogel cannot
claim, as can Mr. Berthelot, any real work or experiment, however
roughly performed, suggested by the desire to prove the truth of his
own views. Let him not, then, bring forth old and long since explained
discrepancies, ... but when he will have discovered new or overlooked
facts ... chemists will gladly listen." ... Mr. Greene is here no longer
occupied to investigate whether what I have said concerning Avogadro's
hypothesis is true or false, but with myself he has become personal, and
in noticing his remarks my sole object is to contend against an error
which is much prevalent. If, according to Mr. Greene, the real work of
science consists in experimenting, and conclusions unsupported by our
own experiments have no value, it does not appear for what purpose he
has published his answer to my paper; an experiment of his, settling
Marignac's uncertain results, would have justified the reliance he
places on them. The ground he takes is utterly untenable. Experiments
are necessary to establish facts; without them there could be no
science, and the highest credit is due to those who perform successfully
difficult or costly experiments. Experimenting is, however, not the
aim and object of science, but the means to arrive at the truth; and
discoveries derived from accumulated and generally accepted facts are
not the less valuable on account of not having been derived from new and
special experiment.
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