How Many Molecules Does It Take to Tell a Story? Case Studies, Language, and an Epistemic View of Medicinal Chemistry

Medicinal chemistry has always been closer to the arts than other disciplines in the natural sciences. Instead of searching for natural laws, medicinal chemistry creates new molecular entities entailing desired pharmaceutical characteristics. While the productive output of medicinal chemistry is comprehensively documented, the epistemic paths of the creative process are less well described. Here we show how such paths could be visualized and how these visualizations relate to images developed in the history and philosophy of science. Based on the discussion of these visualizations, we argue that there is a need for a new language of creativity that can be employed during the very course of research, as opposed to its retrospective analysis. This language should be able to reflect both the status and directions in highly complex research processes that may have a clear goal, yet must remain open to unexpected moments of serendipity.