Philosophy
Abstract:
By 1930, at a time when the new physics based on relativity and quantum theory had reached a state of consolidation, problems of a foundational kind began to abound. Physicists began to speak of a new “crisis” and envisage a forthcoming “revolution” of a scale similar to the one in the mid-1920s. The perceived crisis was an issue not only in microphysics but also in cosmology, where it resulted in ambitious cosmophysical theories that transcended the ordinary methods of physics. The uncertain cognitive situation was, in some circles, associated to the uncertain political and moral situation. Did the problems of foundational physics demand a revolution in thinking that somehow paralleled the political revolutions of the time? I argue that although such ideas were indeed discussed in the 1930s, they were more rhetoric than reality. With the benefit of hindsight one can see that the perceived crisis was only temporary and not significantly related to social or ideological developments in the decade.
"Visions of Revolutions: Microphysics and Cosmophysics in the 1930s" by Helge Kragh
- The Crisis Crisis
Crispin Sartwell over at Eye of the Storm has commented on something I've been thinking about for a while. The way we remain in a constant state of crisis: so it's well past time we started tacking intensifiers on 'crisis,' which now refers...
- Scientific Genius Gone?
"Is the age of scientific genius over?" by Ashutosh Jogalekar February 3rd, 2013 Scientific American There’s a short rumination in this week’s Nature in which Dean Keith Simonton, a psychologist from the University of California, Davis asks a question...
- Putting Cosmology In Its Place...a Good Thing
It is comforting to know that I am not alone in these views. Abstract... Cosmology differs in some respects significantly from other sciences, primarily because of its intimate association with issues of a conceptual and philosophical nature. Because...
- "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...
- Radioactive Disintegration, Discovery Of The Atomic Nucleus, Artificially Produced Element Transformation--ernest Rutherford's Early Experiments
Abstract:Modern atomic and nuclear physics took its start in the early part of the twentieth century, to a large extent based upon experimental investigations of radioactive phenomena. Foremost among the pioneers of the new kind of physics was Ernest...
Philosophy
Microphysics and Cosmophysics in the 1930s
Abstract:
By 1930, at a time when the new physics based on relativity and quantum theory had reached a state of consolidation, problems of a foundational kind began to abound. Physicists began to speak of a new “crisis” and envisage a forthcoming “revolution” of a scale similar to the one in the mid-1920s. The perceived crisis was an issue not only in microphysics but also in cosmology, where it resulted in ambitious cosmophysical theories that transcended the ordinary methods of physics. The uncertain cognitive situation was, in some circles, associated to the uncertain political and moral situation. Did the problems of foundational physics demand a revolution in thinking that somehow paralleled the political revolutions of the time? I argue that although such ideas were indeed discussed in the 1930s, they were more rhetoric than reality. With the benefit of hindsight one can see that the perceived crisis was only temporary and not significantly related to social or ideological developments in the decade.
"Visions of Revolutions: Microphysics and Cosmophysics in the 1930s" by Helge Kragh
- The Crisis Crisis
Crispin Sartwell over at Eye of the Storm has commented on something I've been thinking about for a while. The way we remain in a constant state of crisis: so it's well past time we started tacking intensifiers on 'crisis,' which now refers...
- Scientific Genius Gone?
"Is the age of scientific genius over?" by Ashutosh Jogalekar February 3rd, 2013 Scientific American There’s a short rumination in this week’s Nature in which Dean Keith Simonton, a psychologist from the University of California, Davis asks a question...
- Putting Cosmology In Its Place...a Good Thing
It is comforting to know that I am not alone in these views. Abstract... Cosmology differs in some respects significantly from other sciences, primarily because of its intimate association with issues of a conceptual and philosophical nature. Because...
- "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...
- Radioactive Disintegration, Discovery Of The Atomic Nucleus, Artificially Produced Element Transformation--ernest Rutherford's Early Experiments
Abstract:Modern atomic and nuclear physics took its start in the early part of the twentieth century, to a large extent based upon experimental investigations of radioactive phenomena. Foremost among the pioneers of the new kind of physics was Ernest...