The BJPS Popper Prize 2024

In ‘The Problem of Molecular Structure Just Is the Measurement Problem’, Franklin and Seifert argue that three foundational problems arising within quantum-mechanical explanations of chemical structure—chirality, the existence of isomers, and symmetry breaking—can be treated as aspects of the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. The authors contend that these results reduce the support these problems provide for anti-reductionist and emergentist positions. Although the measurement problem is unsolved, Franklin and Seifert explore how leading proposed solutions can address the foundational problems at issue.

This piece represents a ground-breaking unification of work in the foundations of physics and in the foundations of chemistry, thereby carving out new territory where these areas of enquiry overlap. It is a superb contribution to the philosophy of science, both in its detailed treatment of problems to do with molecular structure and in the way this treatment is brought to bear on the long-running debate over the emergent status of chemical phenomena. The editors applaud Franklin and Seifert’s careful, insightful, and agenda-setting research, enthusiastically awarding them the 2024 Popper Prize.

—Prof. Tim Lewens & Prof. Robert Rupert