Phlogiston Theory and Epistemic Persistence
An examination of the prolonged resistance to Lavoisier's oxygen theory despite empirical contradiction.
The Phlogiston theory functioned as a rigid paradigm protecting the identities of 18th-century chemists who defined their mastery through the existence of a fire-element.
Its collapse demonstrates Liar's-Heir-Syndrome (LHS) dynamics as proponents engaged in elaborate ad-hoc justifications to maintain an inherited, faulty conceptual framework.
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