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Including Gravitation in a Unified Theory of PhysicsBoston Studies in the Philosophy of Science 250 759-1038. 2007.
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6Philipp Frank on Special Relativity: 1908–1912In Paola Cantù & Georg Schiemer (eds.), Logic, Epistemology, and Scientific Theories – From Peano to the Vienna Circle, Springer Nature Switzerland. pp. 283-301. 2023.Between 1908 and 1912, while working in Vienna, Philipp Frank wrote a dozen articles on relativity: the principle, as Einstein originally denominated it, or the theory, as others came to call it. This work was primarily responsible for his appointment in 1912 as Einstein's successor as Professor of Theoretical Physics at the German University in Prague. The paper places these articles into their narrower and broader historical context and relates them to the work of others.
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18Einstein and the History of General Relativity (edited book)Birkhäuser. 1989.Based upon the proceedings of the First International Conference on the History of General Relativity, held at Boston University's Osgood Hill Conference Center, North Andover, Massachusetts, 8-11 May 1986, this volume brings together essays by twelve prominent historians and philosophers of science and physicists. The topics range from the development of general relativity (John Norton, John Stachel) and its early reception (Carlo Cattani, Michelangelo De Maria, Anne Kox), through attempts to u…Read more
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8Einstein et «Zweistein»Revue de Synthèse 126 (2): 353-365. 2005.Comme le suggère le sobriquet « Zweistein », Wolfgang Pauli fut considéré par la communauté des théoriciens de la physique comme son membre le plus éminent après Albert Einstein. Durant plus de trente-cinq ans, les deux hommes entretinrent des relations intellectuelles et personnelles. Cet article analyse les relations entre quatre thèmes récurrents de leurs discussions. 1) La théorie de la relativité: à l'âge de 20 ans, Pauli préparait un manuel qui fera autorité sur la relativité, manuel qu'il…Read more
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28The Nature of the Physical World is one of a series of semi-popular books, extremely popular and influential in the English-speaking world, that Arthur Eddington wrote between the 1920s and the 1950s. Not only were they masterful scientific expositions, but they included attempts to defend a definite philosophical position: dualism.
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Foundations of Space-Time TheoriesBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science 31 (3): 311-315. 1980.
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21In three volumes, a distinguished group of scholars from a variety of disciplines in the natural and social sciences, the humanities and the arts contribute essays in honor of Robert S. Cohen, on the occasion of his 70th birthday. The range of the essays, as well as their originality, and their critical and historical depth, pay tribute to the extraordinary scope of Professor Cohen's intellectual interests, as a scientist-philosopher and a humanist, and also to his engagement in the world of soc…Read more
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For Dirk Struik Scientific, Historical and Political Essays in Honor of Dirk J. StruikD. Reidel Pub. Co. 1974.
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8Revisiting the Foundations of Relativistic Physics: Festschrift in Honor of John StachelSpringer Verlag. 2003.This book is for physicists, historians and philosophers of physics as well as students seeking an introduction to ongoing debates in relativistic and quantum physics. This title covers the recent debates on the emergence of relativity and quantum theory. It includes chapters with an introductory character, comprehensible to students and science teachers. It strengthens the bonds between the communities of scientists, historians, and philosophers.
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85Foundations of Space-Time Theories: Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science (edited book)University of Minnesota Press. 1974.Some Philosophical Prehistory of General Relativity As history, my remarks will form rather a medley. If they can claim any sort of unity (apart from a ...
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33Einstein's miraculous year: five papers that changed the face of physics (edited book)Princeton University Press. 2005.After 1905, Einstein's miraculous year, physics would never be the same again. In those twelve months, Einstein shattered many cherished scientific beliefs with five extraordinary papers that would establish him as the world's leading physicist. This book brings those papers together in an accessible format. The best-known papers are the two that founded special relativity: On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies and Does the Inertia of a Body Depend on Its Energy Content? In the former, Einstei…Read more
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Review Articles-The Dawning of Gauge TheoryStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 30 (3): 453. 1999.
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Einstein and quantum mechanicsIn Abhay Ashtekar & John Stachel (eds.), Conceptual Problems of Quantum Gravity, Birkhauser. 1991.
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139The relations between things' versus 'the things between relations': The deeper meaning of the hole argumentIn David B. Malament (ed.), Reading Natural Philosophy: Essays in the History and Philosophy of Science and Mathematics, Open Court. pp. 231--66. 2002.
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84In the paper I wish to begin to explore the consequences for metaphysics of thinking that a good physical theory should be background-independent. More generally I want to ask whether the conception of time not as a background but as an active component of the physical universe has any significant consequences for metaphysics. I think that a natural conception of space and time is to regard them as a (possibly infinite) container or stage for the events that make up the history of the universe. …Read more
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57Poincaré and the Origins of Special RelativityHopos: The Journal of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science 6 (2): 242-256. 2016.After introductory surveys of Poincaré’s role in the Dreyfus case and of his “Fourth Geometry,” I turn to the main question. The problem confronting both Poincaré and Einstein was how to reconcile the phenomena of electrodynamics, notably the optical principle of relativity, with the principles of Newtonian mechanics. I show that, on such questions as the existence and role of the ether and the relation between kinematics and dynamics, Poincaré and Einstein held diametrically opposed views. Poin…Read more
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135Einstein's search for general covariance, 1912--1915In Don Howard & John Stachel (eds.), Einstein and the History of General Relativity, Birkhäuser. pp. 1--63. 1989.
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1Do Quanta Need a New Logic?In Robert G. Colodny (ed.), From Quarks to Quasars: Philosophical Problems of Modern Physics, University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 229--347. 1986.
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7The meaning of general covarianceIn John Earman (ed.), Philosophical Problems of the Internal and External World, University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 129--60. 1993.
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Structure, Individuality, and Quantum GravityIn Dean Rickles, Steven French & Juha T. Saatsi (eds.), The Structural Foundations of Quantum Gravity, Oxford University Press. 2006.
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57Einstein and the quantum: fifty years of struggleIn Robert G. Colodny (ed.), From Quarks to Quasars: Philosophical Problems of Modern Physics, University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 349--81. 1986.
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81The rigidly rotating disk as theIn Don Howard & John Stachel (eds.), Einstein and the History of General Relativity, Birkhäuser. pp. 1--48. 1989.
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Boston UniversityRegular Faculty
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Social and Political Philosophy |
Logic and Philosophy of Logic |
Philosophy of Physical Science |