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> Einstein's theories influenced philosophers, not the other way around. Untrue: "At thirteen, when his range of enthusiasms had broadened to include music an
by lapcat 3y ago
> Einstein's theories influenced philosophers, not the other way around.
Untrue:
"At thirteen, when his range of enthusiasms had broadened to include music and philosophy, Einstein was introduced to Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Kant became his favorite philosopher"
"In 1902, Einstein and some friends whom he had met in Bern formed a group that held regular meetings to discuss science and philosophy." "The thinkers whose works they reflected upon included Henri Poincaré, Ernst Mach and David Hume, all of whom significantly influenced Einstein's own subsequent ideas and beliefs."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein
- programjames 3y agoHow does this show the philosophers influenced Einstein? I studied a little philosophy in university, but if I were to make advances in any field ~e~x~c~e~p~t~ including philosophy I doubt I would credit my philosophy classes.
- idoubtit 3y agoHenri Poincaré and Ernst Mach where physicists that worked in the same domains as Einstein. Mixing in the philosopher Hume make your citation very unprecise. Yet, even is debating about Hume had "significantly influenced Einstein's own subsequent ideas and beliefs", that does not mean it had an influence on his relativity theory. Though I recon that Einstein philosophical and religious beliefs did influence his theory. IIRC, it lead him to alter his model of the universe so that it would be stable. After much criticism, he dropped the magic constant he had created for this.
- trashtester 3y agoKind of interesting to go to Kant first and then Hume. Kant was in a sense a synthesis of the rationalists and Hume. But maybe he later came to see it a step in the wrong direction?