Weyl / Pesic Mind and Nature

Selected Writings on Philosophy, Mathematics, and Physics
Course Book
ISBN: 978-1-4008-3332-0
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 272 Seiten

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 have never before been published in any language or translated into English, or that have long been out of print. Complete with Peter Pesic's introduction, notes, and bibliography, these writings reveal an unjustly neglected dimension of a complex and fascinating thinker. In addition, the book includes more than twenty photographs of Weyl and his family and colleagues, many of which are previously unpublished.

Included here are Weyl's exposition of his important synthesis of electromagnetism and gravitation, which Einstein at first hailed as "a first-class stroke of genius"; two little-known letters by Weyl and Einstein from 1922 that give their contrasting views on the philosophical implications of modern physics; and an essay on time that contains Weyl's argument that the past is never completed and the present is not a point. Also included are two book-length series of lectures, The Open World (1932) and Mind and Nature (1934), each a masterly exposition of Weyl's views on a range of topics from modern physics and mathematics. Finally, four retrospective essays from Weyl's last decade give his final thoughts on the interrelations among mathematics, philosophy, and physics, intertwined with reflections on the course of his rich life.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Weyl, Hermann

Pesic, Peter

Weitere Mitwirkende

Pesic, Peter

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Naturwissenschaften, Technik, Medizin
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Physik Allgemein
• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Mathematik Allgemein Geschichte der Mathematik
• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Mathematik Allgemein Philosophie der Mathematik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction 1
1921 Ch 1. Electricity and Gravitation 20
1922 Ch 2. Two Letters by Einstein and Weyl on a Metaphysical Question 25
1927 Ch 3. Time Relations in the Cosmos, Proper Time, Lived Time, and Metaphysical Time 29
1932 Ch 4. The Open World: Three Lectures on the Metaphysical Implications of Science 34
1934 Ch 5. Mind and Nature 83
1946 Ch 6. Address at the Princeton Bicentennial Conference 162
ca.1949 Ch 7. Man and the Foundations of Science 175
1954 Ch 8. The Unity of Knowledge 194
1955 Ch 9. Insight and Reflection 204
Notes 223
References 241
Acknowledgments 253
Index 255

Über Autor(innen)

Peter Pesic is Tutor and Musician-in-Residence at St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His books include Abel's Proof: An Essay on the Sources and Meaning of Mathematical Unsolvability and Seeing Double: Shared Identities in Physics, Philosophy, and Literature.