Defanging Chemistry

One can’t judge a chemical by the company it keeps, eg, the various uses to which it’s put, or the various products in which it’s found. For example, the diaper/napalm issue. The same chemical is used in both products. Chemicals serve purposes in various products; that’s it! This functional understanding of chemicals’ presence in products should end the inquiry. Going beyond this limited inquiry (or attempting to, at least), and ascribing moral values to the chemicals themselves, based on the uses to which they’re put, or value judgments about whether the chemical is “healthful” or “unhealthful”; good or bad, is illogical. Indeed, the “bad” property of a given chemical is often a blessing in disguise that we can usefully exploit in another context. This is especially true in the pharmaceutical and medical realms.