Philosophy
Being the year of astronomy it would be worthwhile to review some of the great debates of the past: The 1921 debate between Harlow Shapley and Herber Curtis in 1921 and the cosmological debates of the 1930s and 1940s. Of the latter from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy...
Sometimes, philosophy drives science. Cosmology between 1932-48 provides an excellent example how explicitly philosophical considerations directed the evolution of a modern science during a crucial period of its development. The following article exhibits these philosophical aspects of cosmological thinking in detail, beginning with a brief sketch of the historical development of general relativity cosmology until 1932. Following this, the historical participants in the philosophical debate are introduced, along with the basic ideas of their competing positions. Then the critical stages of the debate -- 1935-37 -- are closely explored by focussing directly upon the arguments of the participating scientists and philosophers. Finally, the concluding stage of the philosophical debate, namely, the emergence of the steady-state theory of the Universe, is presented in the context of its development from Popper's philosophy of science.
Read more...
"The Great Debate" [1921]--Shapley & Curtis
The astronomy/cosmology debates of the 1930's & 1940's
An over zealous Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington?
- Science, Philosophy, Cosmology
Cosmology is the attempt to understand in scientific terms the structure and evolution of the universe as a whole. This ambition has been with us since the ancient Greeks, even if the developments in modern cosmology have provided a picture of the universe...
- "criteria Of Science, Cosmology, And Lessons Of History"...an Interesting Paper By Helge Kragh
Abstract... Perhaps more than any other science, cosmology exemplifies the inevitable contact between science and philosophy, including the problem of the demarcation criteria that distinguish science from non-science. Although modern physical cosmology...
- Observational Cosmology...edwin Hubble And Harlow Shapley
Abstract: Observational cosmology of the first decades of the Twentieth Century was dominated by two giants: Edwin Hubble and Harlow Shapley. Hubble's major contributions were to the study and classification of individual galaxies with large telescopes,...
- A Long Trip For A Short Event To Test An Hypothesis
May 1929 Popular Science Monthly [Click image to enlarge to read] And yet another series of tests to confirm Einstein's postulation that light bends as written by George Lee Dowd, Jr. in the May 1929 issue of Popular Science Monthly. An over zealous...
- Sir Hermann Bondi--steady State Universe
Sir Hermann Bondi I well remember him working with Fred Hoyle and promotion of the "steady state universe" hypothesis. The Universe at Large, Relativity and Common Sense, The Steady State Theory of the Expanding Universe [with Professor Thomas Gold],...
Philosophy
Astronomy: Classic debates
Being the year of astronomy it would be worthwhile to review some of the great debates of the past: The 1921 debate between Harlow Shapley and Herber Curtis in 1921 and the cosmological debates of the 1930s and 1940s. Of the latter from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy...
Sometimes, philosophy drives science. Cosmology between 1932-48 provides an excellent example how explicitly philosophical considerations directed the evolution of a modern science during a crucial period of its development. The following article exhibits these philosophical aspects of cosmological thinking in detail, beginning with a brief sketch of the historical development of general relativity cosmology until 1932. Following this, the historical participants in the philosophical debate are introduced, along with the basic ideas of their competing positions. Then the critical stages of the debate -- 1935-37 -- are closely explored by focussing directly upon the arguments of the participating scientists and philosophers. Finally, the concluding stage of the philosophical debate, namely, the emergence of the steady-state theory of the Universe, is presented in the context of its development from Popper's philosophy of science.
Read more...
"The Great Debate" [1921]--Shapley & Curtis
The astronomy/cosmology debates of the 1930's & 1940's
An over zealous Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington?
- Science, Philosophy, Cosmology
Cosmology is the attempt to understand in scientific terms the structure and evolution of the universe as a whole. This ambition has been with us since the ancient Greeks, even if the developments in modern cosmology have provided a picture of the universe...
- "criteria Of Science, Cosmology, And Lessons Of History"...an Interesting Paper By Helge Kragh
Abstract... Perhaps more than any other science, cosmology exemplifies the inevitable contact between science and philosophy, including the problem of the demarcation criteria that distinguish science from non-science. Although modern physical cosmology...
- Observational Cosmology...edwin Hubble And Harlow Shapley
Abstract: Observational cosmology of the first decades of the Twentieth Century was dominated by two giants: Edwin Hubble and Harlow Shapley. Hubble's major contributions were to the study and classification of individual galaxies with large telescopes,...
- A Long Trip For A Short Event To Test An Hypothesis
May 1929 Popular Science Monthly [Click image to enlarge to read] And yet another series of tests to confirm Einstein's postulation that light bends as written by George Lee Dowd, Jr. in the May 1929 issue of Popular Science Monthly. An over zealous...
- Sir Hermann Bondi--steady State Universe
Sir Hermann Bondi I well remember him working with Fred Hoyle and promotion of the "steady state universe" hypothesis. The Universe at Large, Relativity and Common Sense, The Steady State Theory of the Expanding Universe [with Professor Thomas Gold],...