Abstract
Recently, I wrote a review of two collections of philosophical essays by Eric Scerri for a British journal. The books were devoted to philosophy of chemistry and issues of chemical pedagogy. As I composed the review, I began thinking, "Would such reviews be of interest and value to readers of PSCF?" On the face of it, the books contained no references to God, to humans' calling in the world, or to the science/religion relationship-not a single whiff of a theology of science. So, should we simply not care and rule such reflection beyond the pale? Must, in fact, all we do be directly related to "God-talk"? A better approach to take, I would argue, is to ascertain which philosophical, metaphysical, and religious starting points radiate through a scientist's presentation and formulations. For some of us, an inviting option could be to return to an earlier time when "God-talk" was in the air, before the secularization of science took hold. But clearly, it will not do to become nostalgic about a historical "golden age" when persons such as Jan Luyken (Amsterdam, 1694) could describe chemists as "scheiders" [as practitioners of the art of separation or "scheikunde"], able to divide even body and soul.