19. Über die erkenntnistheoretische Stellung des chemischen Elementbegriffs (“Chapter 19. On the Epistemological Status of the Chemical Concept of the Element” by Christoph Maulbetsch, German language).

<jats:p>This chapter examines Paneth’s 1931 essay on the epistemological status of the chemical concept of the element and its much later rediscovery. At its center is Paneth’s dual concept of the element: the element as a perceptible “simple substance” and as a “basic substance” that persists in compounds but cannot be directly experienced. With this distinction, Paneth sought to explain the persistence of elements in chemical reactions and to defend chemistry’s autonomy against physical reduction.</jats:p> <jats:p>At the same time, the chapter shows the historical and conceptual weaknesses of this model. Paneth’s distinction was already implicit in Mendeleev and was strongly shaped by Georges Urbain and Émile Meyerson. The unclear status of the “basic substance,” the idea of “qualityless” entities, and the explanation of allotropy remain especially problematic. In the end, the debate over the element appears less as a problem of chemical practice than as one of definition, language, and epistemology.</jats:p>