Abstract Chemistry is an experimental science. One cannot learn nor practice chemistry without conducting experiments and spending some time in a laboratory. To appreciate this, I employ the concept of pursuit and show the different ways in which experiments in chemistry have been and continue to be worthy of pursuit. I claim that, beyond theory-testing and development, chemical experimentation has been worthy of pursuit in at least four distinct respects: it is pursued for educational purposes; industrial development; technological innovation; and, the historiography of chemistry. Based on this analysis, I formulate the first explicit taxonomy of pursuit in relation to chemical experimentation. This taxonomy reveals the uniquely important role of experimentation in chemistry. In addition, it shows that the concept of pursuit is a multifaceted and dynamical concept. The analysis of experimentation from the perspective of this taxonomy allows us to consider the value of scientific experimentation in a much broader context than before.
Vanessa A. Seifert (Mon,) studied this question.