Time and the Metaphysics of Relativity

Time and the Metaphysics of Relativity
Author: W.L. Craig
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2013-11-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401735328

The larger project of which this volume forms part is an attempt to craft a coherent doctrine of divine eternity and God's relationship to time. Central to this project is the integration of the concerns of theology with the concept of time in relativity theory. This volume provides an accessible and philosophically informed examination of the concept of time in relativity, the ultimate aim being the achievement of a tenable theological synthesis.

Philosophical Relativity

Philosophical Relativity
Author: Peter Unger
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2002-10-03
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0198035446

In this short but meaty book, Peter Unger questions the objective answers that have been given to central problems in philosophy. As Unger hypothesizes, many of these problems are unanswerable, including the problems of knowledge and scepticism, the problems of free will, and problems of causation and explanation. In each case, he argues, we arrive at one answer only relative to an assumption about the meaning of key terms, terms like "know" and like "cause," even while we arrive at an opposite answer relative to quite different assumptions, but equally arbitrary assumptions, about what the key terms mean.

The Reign of Relativity

The Reign of Relativity
Author: Thomas Ryckman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2005-01-13
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0190292156

Universally recognized as bringing about a revolutionary transformation of the notions of space, time, and motion in physics, Einstein's theory of gravitation, known as "general relativity," was also a defining event for 20th century philosophy of science. During the decisive first ten years of the theory's existence, two main tendencies dominated its philosophical reception. This book is an extended argument that the path actually taken, which became logical empiricist philosophy of science, greatly contributed to the current impasse over realism, whereas new possibilities are opened in revisiting and reviving the spirit of the more sophisticated tendency, a cluster of viewpoints broadly termed transcendental idealism, and furthering its articulation. It also emerges that Einstein, while paying lip service to the emerging philosophy of logical empiricism, ended up siding de facto with the latter tendency. Ryckman's work speaks to several groups, among them philosophers of science and historians of relativity. Equations are displayed as necessary, but Ryckman gives the non-mathematical reader enough background to understand their occurrence in the context of his wider philosophical project.

Foundations of Space-Time Theories

Foundations of Space-Time Theories
Author: Michael Friedman
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2014-07-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1400855128

This book, explores the conceptual foundations of Einstein's theory of relativity: the fascinating, yet tangled, web of philosophical, mathematical, and physical ideas that is the source of the theory's enduring philosophical interest. Originally published in 1983. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Philosophy of Physics

Philosophy of Physics
Author: Tim Maudlin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2015-05-26
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0691165718

Philosophical foundations of the physics of space-time This concise book introduces nonphysicists to the core philosophical issues surrounding the nature and structure of space and time, and is also an ideal resource for physicists interested in the conceptual foundations of space-time theory. Tim Maudlin's broad historical overview examines Aristotelian and Newtonian accounts of space and time, and traces how Galileo's conceptions of relativity and space-time led to Einstein's special and general theories of relativity. Maudlin explains special relativity with enough detail to solve concrete physical problems while presenting general relativity in more qualitative terms. Additional topics include the Twins Paradox, the physical aspects of the Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction, the constancy of the speed of light, time travel, the direction of time, and more. Introduces nonphysicists to the philosophical foundations of space-time theory Provides a broad historical overview, from Aristotle to Einstein Explains special relativity geometrically, emphasizing the intrinsic structure of space-time Covers the Twins Paradox, Galilean relativity, time travel, and more Requires only basic algebra and no formal knowledge of physics

Einstein, Relativity and Absolute Simultaneity

Einstein, Relativity and Absolute Simultaneity
Author: William Lane Craig
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2007-11-08
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1134003897

Presenting a collection of original essays from a team of international philosophers and physicists, this volume reassesses the contemporary paradigm of the relativistic concept of time. There is no other book like this currently available.

Philosophical Relativity

Philosophical Relativity
Author: Peter K. Unger
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2002
Genre: Electronic books
ISBN: 019515553X

In this volume Peter Unger questions the objective answers that have been given to traditional problems in philosophy. He casts doubt on the unquestioned view that fundamental questions pertaining to meaning and existence have direct solutions.

Relativity: The Theory and Its Philosophy

Relativity: The Theory and Its Philosophy
Author: Roger B. Angel
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2014-05-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1483150038

Relativity: The Theory and its Philosophy provides a completely self-contained treatment of the philosophical foundations of the theory of relativity. It also surveys the most essential mathematical techniques and concepts that are indispensable to an understanding of the foundations of both the special and general theories of relativity. In short, the book includes a crash course in applied mathematics, ranging from elementary trigonometry to the classical tensor calculus. Comprised of 11 chapters, this book begins with an introduction to fundamental mathematical concepts such as sets, relations, and functions; N-tuples, vectors, and matrices; and vector algebra and calculus. The discussion then turns to the concept of relativity and elementary foundations of Newtonian mechanics, as well as the principle of special relativity and its interpretation by means of empiricism and rationalism. Subsequent chapters focus on the status of the doctrine of conventionalism in the theory of special relativity; the commensurability of classical and relativistic mechanics; mathematical foundations of special relativistic physics; and the classical or Newtonian theory of gravitation. The principle of general covariance and its relation to the principle of general relativity are also examined. The final chapter addresses the fundamental question as to the actual information concerning the structure of spacetime that is conveyed to us through the theory of general relativity. This monograph will be of interest to students, teachers, practitioners, and researchers in physics, mathematics, and philosophy.

The Philosophy of Relativity

The Philosophy of Relativity
Author: A. P. Ushenko
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2022-06-30
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1000602869

First published in 1937, The Philosophy of Relativity contains an exposition of Einstein, a step-by step deduction of the main equations of both the special and general theories of relativity. This book sets out to expound an original theory of events, change and space-time, and to offer a new explanation of perception. But in order to ramify his belief in the objective reality of space and time, the author digresses into problems of general interest such as cognitive significance of art and Zeno’s paradoxes. He also defends his theory in an appraisal of the fashionable views of logical positivism and pragmatism. This book is a must read for scholars and researchers of philosophy of science and philosophy in general.

Philosophy of Physics

Philosophy of Physics
Author: David Wallace
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2021
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0198814321

Philosophy of physics is concerned with the deepest theories of modern physics - quantum theory, our theories of space, time and symmetry, and thermal physics - and their strange, even bizarre conceptual implications. This book explores the core topics in philosophy of physics, and discusses their relevance for both scientists and philosophers.