Defending Einstein: Hans Reichenbach's Writings On Space, Time And Motion

Defending Einstein 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 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 the physicists Max Born and D. C. Miller; and popular articles meant to clarify aspects of Einstein’s theories and set out their philosophical ramifications for the layperson. This book is a window into the development of scientific philosophy and the role of the philosopher at a time when physics and philosophy were both undergoing revolutionary changes in content and method. 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. Anke Walz is assistant professor of mathematics at Kutztown University. Her work on the bellows conjecture relating to flexible polyhedrals with R. Connely and I. Sabitov has appeared in Beitr¨age zur Algebra und Geometrie and has received coverage in Science and Scientific American. Defending Einstein Hans Reichenbach’s Writings on Space, Time, and Motion Edited by Steven Gimbel Anke Walz Gettysburg College Kutztown University cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, S˜ao Paulo Cambridge University Press 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473, USA www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521859585
c Steven Gimbel and Anke Walz 2006 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2006 Printed in the United States of America A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Reichenbach, Hans, 1891–1953. Defending Einstein : Hans Reichenbach’s writings on space, time, and motion / edited by Steven Gimbel, Anke Walz. p. cm. ISBN-13: 978-0-521-85958-5 (hardback) ISBN-10: 0-521-85958-1 (hardback) 1. Relativity (Physics) 2. Relativity (Physics) – Philosophy. 3. Physics – Philosophy. I.