Molecules & Mirrors —Vanessa Seifert on the Philosophy of Chemistry
From MULTIVERSES by James Robinson
December 5, 2025 · 1h 10m · Season 1 · Episode 40
About this episode
Vanessa Seifert discusses the philosophy of chemistry, focusing on molecular handedness and its implications in quantum mechanics.
Why do molecules have a "handedness" when the physics that determines their structure does not?* This is a question emblematic of the philosophy of chemistry; at times, it has been used to argue that chemistry cannot be reduced to physics. However, Vanessa Seifert has a different — yet equally intriguing — answer. This symmetry breaking is closely linked to that contentious area of quantum mechanics: the measurement problem. Vanessa is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow based at the University of Athens and a visiting fellow at the University of Bristol. In addition to molecules, we discuss the project of reductionism, laws, and alchemy. I found this to be a wonderful example of the fruitfulness of turning the philosophical gaze to sciences beyond physics. *(Note, it can't be explained by the chirality of the weak nuclear force) Links vanessa-seifert.com [https://www.vanessa-seifert.com/] has links to Vanessa's publications and popular writing — her articles on philosophy in Chemistry World are a great introduction to a broad range of topics multiverses.xyz [https://www.multiverses.xyz/] Multiverses home
People in this episode
Host: James Robinson
Guest: Vanessa Seifert
Topics covered
- philosophy of chemistry
- quantum mechanics
- reductionism
- molecules
- symmetry breaking
- alchemy
Keywords
- molecules
- handedness
- quantum mechanics
- reductionism
- symmetry breaking
- philosophy
- chemistry
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Athens, University of Bristol, Chemistry World, MULTIVERSES
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