Max Jammer's Concepts of Simultaneity presents a comprehensive, accessible account of the historical development of an important and controversial concept—which played a critical role in initiating modern theoretical physics—from the days of Egyptian hieroglyphs through to Einstein's work in 1905, and beyond.Beginning with the use of the concept of simultaneity in ancient Egypt and in the Bible, the study discusses its role in Greek and medieval philosophy as well as its s...

The philosophy of religion and the quest for spiritual truth preoccupied Albert Einstein--so much that it has been said "one might suspect he was a disguised theologian." Nevertheless, the literature on the life and work of Einstein, extensive as it is, does not provide an adequate account of his religious conception and sentiments. Only fragmentarily known, Einstein's ideas about religion have been often distorted both by atheists and by religious groups eager to claim him as one of their...

In considering the history of modern mathematics two questions at once arise:(1) What limitations shall be placed upon the term Mathematics?(2) What force shall be assigned to the word Modern? In other words, how shall Modern Mathematics be defined?In these pages the term Mathematics will be limited to the domain of pure science. Questions of the applications of the various branches will be considered only incidentally. Such great contributions as those of Newton in t...

This book presents the life and personality, the scientific and philosophical work of Ludwig Boltzmann, one of the great scientists who marked the passage from 19th- to 20th-Century physics. His rich and tragic life, ending by suicide at the age of 62, is described in detail. A substantial part of the book is devoted to discussing his scientific and philosophical ideas and placing them in the context of the second half of the 19th century. The fact that Boltzmann was the man who did most t...

Hermann Weyl (1885-1955) was one of the twentieth century's most important mathematicians, as well as a seminal figure in the development of quantum physics and general relativity. He was also an eloquent writer with a lifelong interest in the philosophical implications of the startling new scientific developments with which he was so involved. Mind and Nature is a collection of Weyl's most important general writings on philosophy, mathematics, and physics, including pieces that h...

In this new edition, Arthur Fine looks at Einstein's philosophy of science and develops his own views on realism. A new Afterword discusses the reaction to Fine's own theory."What really led Einstein . . . to renounce the new quantum order? For those interested in this question, this book is compulsory reading."—Harvey R. Brown, American Journal of Physics"Fine has successfully combined a historical account of Einstein's philosophical views on quantum mechanics and a...

The year 2007 marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of one of the Enlightenment's most important mathematicians and scientists, Leonhard Euler. This volume is a collection of 24 essays by some of the world's best Eulerian scholars from seven different countries about Euler, his life and his work. Some of the essays are historical, including much previously unknown information about Euler's life, his activities in the St. Petersburg Academy, the influence of the Russian Princess Dashkova...

Erwin Schrödinger is one of the greatest figures of theoretical physics, but there is another side to the man: not only did his work revolutionize physics, it also radiacally changed the foundations of our modern worldview, modern biology, philosophy of science, philosophy of the mind, and epistemology.This book explores the lesser-known aspects of Schrödinger's thought, revealing the physicist as a philosopher and polymath whose highly original ideas anticipated the current merging...

We humans are collectively driven by a powerful - yet not fully explained - instinct to understand. We would like to see everything established, proven, laid bare. The more important an issue, the more we desire to see it clarified, stripped of all secrets, all shades of gray. What could be more important than to understand the Universe and ourselves as a part of it? To find a window onto our origin and our destiny? This book examines how far our modern cosmological theories - with their s...

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) was the most influential physicist of the 20th century. Less well known is that fundamental philosophical problems, such as concept formation, the role of epistemology in developing and explaining the character of physical theories, and the debate between positivism and realism, played a central role in his thought as a whole.Thomas Ryckman shows that already at the beginning of his career - at a time when the twin pillars of classical physics, Newtonian...

"One of the most influential books of the 20th century," the landmark study in the history of science with a new introduction by philosopher Ian Hacking ( Guardian, UK).First published in 1962, Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions "reshaped our understanding of the scientific enterprise and human inquiry in general." In it, he challenged long-standing assumptions about scientific progress, arguing that transformative ideas don't ar...

Imre Lakatos's Proofs and Refutations is an enduring classic, which has never lost its relevance. Taking the form of a dialogue between a teacher and some students, the book considers various solutions to mathematical problems and, in the process, raises important questions about the nature of mathematical discovery and methodology. Lakatos shows that mathematics grows through a process of improvement by attempts at proofs and critiques of these attempts, and his work continues to inspire ...