Physics concerns direct analysis of the physical world, while philosophy analyzes knowledge about the physical world. This volume combines both disciplines for a philosophical interpretation of quantum physics — an interpretation free from the imprecision of metaphysics, offering a view of the atomic world and its quantum mechanical results as concrete as the visible everyday world. Written by an internationally renowned philosopher who specialized in symbolic logic and the theory of relativity, this approach consists of three parts. The first section, which requires no background in math or physics, reviews the basics of quantum mechanics, outlining their philosophical interpretation and summarizing their results. The second part, which presupposes a knowledge of calculus, outlines the mathematical methods of quantum mechanics; and the third part blends the philosophical ideas of the first part and the mathematical formulations of the second part to develop a variety of interpretations of quantum mechanics. The author presents in-depth discussions of each interpretation, constructing a conclusion in terms of three-valued logic that offers readers a satisfactory logical form of quantum mechanics. Focusing on clarification of concepts rather than developing problem-solving skills, this volume will prove enlightening to students of mathematics, physics, and the other sciences.

Philosophic Foundations of Quantum Mechanics (Dover Books on Physics)

Politics & Social Sciences

Hans Reichenbach

Philosophy

Dover Publications

Ever a source of philosophical conjecture and debate, the concept of time represents the beating heart of physics. This final work by the distinguished physicist Hans Reichenbach represents the culmination and integration of a lifetime's philosophical contributions and inquiries into the analysis of time. The result is an outstanding overview of such qualitative, or topological, attributes of time as order and direction. Beginning with a discussion of the emotive significance of time, Reichenbach turns to an examination of the time order of mechanics, the time direction of thermodynamics and microstatistics, the time direction of macrostatistics, and the time of quantum physics. He offers coherent explanations of the analytic methods of scientific philosophy in the investigation of probability, quantum mechanics, the theory of relativity, and causality — methods that he not only applies here but also helped to develop and refine. Physics Today observed that "For a generation Professor Reichenbach has worked as almost no other man to bring to the interpretation of modern physics the critical and reflective thinking of a trained philosopher. Most physicists who retain an interest in philosophy, and many who wanted simply to understand physics, have read some of the earlier books of Reichenbach. This one is . . . the best by a good deal." Introduction. Appendix. Index.

The Direction of Time (Dover Books on Physics)

Science & Math

Physics

With unusual depth and clarity, it covers the problem of the foundations of geometry, the theory of time, the theory and consequences of Einstein's relativity including: relations between theory and observations, coordinate definitions, relations between topological and metrical properties of space, the psychological problem of the possibility of a visual intuition of non-Euclidean structures, and many other important topics in modern science and philosophy. While some of the book utilizes mathematics of a somewhat advanced nature, the exposition is so careful and complete that most people familiar with the philosophy of science or some intermediate mathematics will understand the majority of the ideas and problems discussed. Partial CONTENTS: I. The Problem of Physical Geometry. Universal and Differential Forces. Visualization of Geometries. Spaces with non-Euclidean Topological Properties. Geometry as a Theory of Relations. II. The Difference between Space and Time. Simultaneity. Time Order. Unreal Sequences. Ill. The Problem of a Combined Theory of Space and Time. Construction of the Space-Time Metric. Lorentz and Einstein Contractions. Addition Theorem of Velocities. Principle of Equivalence. Einstein's Concept of the Problems of Rotation and Gravitation. Gravitation and Geometry. Riemannian Spaces. The Singular Nature of Time. Spatial Dimensions. Reality of Space and Time.

The Philosophy of Space and Time (Dover Books on Physics)

This book attempts to integrate the latest findings in the physics of relativity of its day into the philosophic traditions of Europe. It is a translation of Einstein into philosophic logic, especially Kant.

Axiomatization of the Theory of Relativity

Univ. of California Press

The Theory of Probability: An Inquiry into the Logical and Mathematical Foundations of the Calculus of Probability

University of California Press

Hans Reichenbach, a philosopher of science who was one of five students in Einstein's first seminar on the general theory of relativity, became Einstein's bulldog, defending the theory against criticism from philosophers, physicists, and popular commentators. This book chronicles the development of Reichenbach's reconstruction of Einstein's theory in a way that clearly sets out all of its philosophical commitments and its physical predictions as well as the battles that Reichenbach fought on its behalf, in both the academic and popular press. The essays include reviews and responses to philosophical colleagues; polemical discussions with physicists Max Born and D. C. Miller; as well as popular articles meant for the layperson. At a time when physics and philosophy were both undergoing revolutionary changes in content and method, this book is a window into the development of scientific philosophy and the role of the philosopher.

Defending Einstein: Hans Reichenbach's Writings on Space, Time and Motion

Cambridge University Press

<div>The first English translation of Hans Reichenbach's lucid doctoral thesis sheds new light on how Kant's Critique of Pure Reason was understood in some quarters at the time. The source of several themes in his still-influential The Direction of Time, the thesis shows Reichenbach's early focus on the interdependence of physics, probability, and epistemology.</div>

The Concept of Probability in the Mathematical Representation of Reality

Open Court Pub. Co

From Copernicus to Einstein

Peter Smith Pub

Hans Reichenbach, Philosophie Im Umkreis Der Physik

Maria Reichenbach

De Gruyter Akademie Forschung

The birth of the theory of relativity - to Einstein from Copernicus (Kodansha academic library (716)) (1986) ISBN: 4061587161 [Japanese Import]

Kodansha

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Books by Hans Reichenbach