Defending Einstein

Erscheinungsjahr 2016
ISBN: 978-0-521-85958-5
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 222 Seiten, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 453 g

Hans Reichenbach, a philosopher of science who was one of five students in Einstein's first seminar on the general theory of relativity, became Einstein's bulldog, defending the theory against criticism from philosophers, physicists, and popular commentators. This book chronicles the development of Reichenbach's reconstruction of Einstein's theory in a way that clearly sets out all of its philosophical commitments and its physical predictions as well as the battles that Reichenbach fought on its behalf, in both the academic and popular press. The essays include reviews and responses to philosophical colleagues, such as Moritz Schlick and Hugo Dingler; polemical discussions with physicists Max Born and D. C. Miller; as well as popular articles meant to clarify aspects of Einstein's theories and set out their philosophical ramifications for the layperson. At a time when physics and philosophy were both undergoing revolutionary changes in content and method, this book is a window into the development of scientific philosophy and the role of the philosopher.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Reichenbach, Hans

Weitere Mitwirkende

Gimbel, Steven

Walz, Anke

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Wissenschaftstheorie, Wissenschaftsphilosophie
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Physik Allgemein Geschichte der Physik
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Formalen Wissenschaften & Technik
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Westliche Philosophie: 20./21. Jahrhundert
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction
1. Review of Moritz Schlick's General Theory of Knowledge
2. Einstein's theory of space
3. Reply to H. Dingler's Critique of the Theory of Relativity
4. Report on an axiomatization of Einstein's theory of space-time
5. Reply to Th. Wulf's objections of the general theory of relativity
6. Einstein's theory of motion
7. The theory of relativity and absolute transport time
8. Reply to Anderson's objections to the general theory of relativity
9. Review of Müller's The Philosophical Problems with Einstein's Theory of Relativity
10. The philosophical significance of the theory of relativity
11. Planet clocks and Einsteinian simultaneity
12. On the physical consequences of the axiomatization of relativity
13. Has the theory of relativity been refuted?
14. Response to a publication of Mr. Hj. Mellin.

Über Autor(innen)

Reichenbach, Hans
Steven Gimbel is associate professor of philosophy at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, where he was named Luther W. and Bernice L. Thompson Distinguished Teacher in 2005. He has contributed to Philosophy of Science, British Journal of Philosophy of Science, and Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics.

Gimbel, Steven
Anke Walz is assistant professor of mathematics at Kutztown University. Her work on the bellow's conjecture relating to flexible polyhedral with R. Connely and I. Sabitov has appeared in Beiträge zur Algebra und Geometrie and has received coverage in Science and Scientific American.