Abstract
Generally, an object is vague when its properties cannot precisely defined. The ontic view of vagueness is the idea that vagueness is a fundamental property of Nature. This simply means that everything is vague: animals, plants, molecules, atoms, etc. Furthermore, if atoms and molecules are vague, then the subject matter of chemistry is vague. However, we first need to understand why molecules and atoms are vague.
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Notes
See Ronzitti (2011) for a general introduction to vagueness and the ideas that are briefly presented in this paragraph.
Some authors (e.g., Lee Smolin 2019) argue that quantum mechanics (i.e., the standard interpretation of quantum physics) is roughly to a new yet-to-be-discovered theory what the Newtonian theory of gravity is to the general theory of relativity.
According to Morris (1938), semiosis is the process by which something functions as a sign. A semiosis is regarded as involving three factors: the sign vehicle, the designatum, and the interpretant. Now, the study of the relations of signs to the objects to which they are applicable is called semantics. The study of the relations of signs to interpreters is called pragmatics. And the study of the relation of signs to one another is called syntactics.
See Emergence (https://www.iep.utm.edu/emergenc/) at The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Pier Luigi Gentili for his comments and suggestions. Also, I would like to thank John F. Sowa who suggested the idea that molecules might be vague. Last but certainly not least I thank the anonymous reviewer for his/her comments and suggestions.
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Syropoulos, A. On vague chemistry. Found Chem 23, 105–113 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10698-020-09383-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10698-020-09383-3