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The Evolution of Modern Philosophy
The Philosophy of Physics
This magisterial study of the philosophy of physics both introduces the subject to the nonspecialist and contains many original and important contributions for professionals in the area. Modern physics was born as a part of philosophy and has retained to this day a properly philosophical concern for the clarity and coherence of ideas. Any introduction to the philosophy of physics must therefore focus on the conceptual development of physics itself. This book pursues that development from Galileo and Newton through Maxwell and Boltzmann to Einstein and the founders of quantum mechanics. There is also discussion of important philosophers of physics in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and of twentieth century debates.
- GenresPhilosophyPhysicsScience
532 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
2 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Roberto Torretti
29 books4 followersRoberto Torretti, Premio Nacional de Humanidades 2011 y doctor honoris causa por la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, es profesor emérito de la Universidad Diego Portales y de la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Río Piedras, profesor titular de la Universidad de Chile, miembro de número del Institut International de Philosophie y de la Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences y miembro honorario de la Asociación de Filosofía e Historia de la Ciencia del Cono Sur.
Escritor y académico reconocido por sus contribuciones a la historia de la filosofía, muy especialmente a la de la física y las matemáticas, Torretti es autor de más de veinticinco libros y cientos de artículos especializados.
Escritor y académico reconocido por sus contribuciones a la historia de la filosofía, muy especialmente a la de la física y las matemáticas, Torretti es autor de más de veinticinco libros y cientos de artículos especializados.
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May 17, 2018Some observations about this book.
1. It is less about the philosophy of physics per se than a history of physics + facsimile of content from physics and math textbooks. I say it is a history of physics because the book is arranged according to chronological emergence of ideas in physics, that is, pre-Newton, Newtonian ideas, classical ideas about electromagnetism and heat, Einsteinian relativity, and quantum mechanics. I say it is a facsimile of contemporary physics and math textbooks because its attempts at synopsis of relevant physics and math ideas, like quantum mechanics and group theory, are identical to the presentation in textbooks. Use of symbols and terminology from wave and matrix mechanics are heavy, just as in actual physics textbooks, and without the benefit of extended exposition one would expect in a book targeted towards philosophers. That's fine for people like me with an undergraduate physics degree but given the noticeable similarity with actual textbooks, one wonders with the point of bothering with this one.
2. The author stops at undergraduate physics. He makes no reference to the material or even existence of quantum field theory or string theory, which is strange because that is plum material for philosophy, both due to their weirdness and esoterism, and their grappling with the fundamental nature of the universe, which philosophy would want to concern itself about.
My POV in the end: If you want a theoretical physics textbook that discusses the historical formation of physics, seek out Malcolm Longair's ''Theoretical Concepts in Physics''. If you want a book on the philosophical dimensions and interpretation of quantum mechanics seek out Bernard d'Espagnat's "Veiled Reality". Boom you don't particularly need this book for your standard reference, maybe just your secondary reference because it is well-written after all.
1. It is less about the philosophy of physics per se than a history of physics + facsimile of content from physics and math textbooks. I say it is a history of physics because the book is arranged according to chronological emergence of ideas in physics, that is, pre-Newton, Newtonian ideas, classical ideas about electromagnetism and heat, Einsteinian relativity, and quantum mechanics. I say it is a facsimile of contemporary physics and math textbooks because its attempts at synopsis of relevant physics and math ideas, like quantum mechanics and group theory, are identical to the presentation in textbooks. Use of symbols and terminology from wave and matrix mechanics are heavy, just as in actual physics textbooks, and without the benefit of extended exposition one would expect in a book targeted towards philosophers. That's fine for people like me with an undergraduate physics degree but given the noticeable similarity with actual textbooks, one wonders with the point of bothering with this one.
2. The author stops at undergraduate physics. He makes no reference to the material or even existence of quantum field theory or string theory, which is strange because that is plum material for philosophy, both due to their weirdness and esoterism, and their grappling with the fundamental nature of the universe, which philosophy would want to concern itself about.
My POV in the end: If you want a theoretical physics textbook that discusses the historical formation of physics, seek out Malcolm Longair's ''Theoretical Concepts in Physics''. If you want a book on the philosophical dimensions and interpretation of quantum mechanics seek out Bernard d'Espagnat's "Veiled Reality". Boom you don't particularly need this book for your standard reference, maybe just your secondary reference because it is well-written after all.
January 24, 2016
physics
August 7, 2011
Une excellente synthèse du sujet. Idéal comme manuel en classe.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews