It has been a while since I read Structure, but I don't quite see how his examination of Phlogiston theory vs. the contemporary understanding of oxidation fits

It has been a while since I read Structure, but I don't quite see how his examination of Phlogiston theory vs. the contemporary understanding of oxidation fits in with your dismissal. It seems to me that Phlogiston theory isn't really a special case of oxidation, as currently understood.