Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2017
Volume 62, Number 4
Monday–Friday, March 13–17, 2017; New Orleans, Louisiana
Session A40: The Physicist and the Philosopher: Einstein, Bergson, and the Debate That Changed Our Understanding of TimeInvited Undergraduate
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Sponsoring Units: FHP Chair: Alan Chodos, APS Forum on History of Physics Room: 387 |
Monday, March 13, 2017 8:00AM - 8:36AM |
A40.00001: Einstein and Time in Physics and Philosophy Invited Speaker: Jimena Canales Current debates about time have left ``a hole at the heart of physics'' (\textit{Scientific American}, Sept 2002). The main problem with contemporary explanations is usually traced to Einstein's theory of relativity, to the notion of a ``block universe,'' and to his famous claim that ``the distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.'' While some scientist have tried to incorporate elements of our experience of time into our explanations of the universe, others continue to claim that our sense of time is simply illusory. Can these debates be solved by science alone or are they inescapably philosophical, historical and cultural? My talk will explore the origins of this persistent quandary by focusing on the relation of physics to philosophy, history and the humanities. Can we solve the problem of time without engaging in ``Science Wars''? [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, March 13, 2017 8:36AM - 9:12AM |
A40.00002: Bergson vs. Einstein: is there really a philosopher's time?. Invited Speaker: Jean bricmont I will show that in his controversy with Einstein, Bergson did not really understand Einstein's theory of relativity and that the controversy between the physicist and the philosopher was based on a mistake by the latter. I will also discuses how that mistake was repeated by other philosophers and thinkers till the present day. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, March 13, 2017 9:12AM - 9:48AM |
A40.00003: About Time. Physics, Philosophy and the Battle Between Albert Einstein and Henri Bergson Invited Speaker: Adam Frank The historical relationship between physics and philosophy has had many famous high and low points. The two function best when both can challenge and support each other. In this talk I explore the famous debate between Albert Einstein and Henri Bergson over the nature of time. While history rightly judged Einstein to have won the debate in terms of relativity, there were deeper aspects of Bergson’s critique that remain unappreciated. We will explore the different ways philosophy approaches the issue of time. In particular, we will look at the “Continental Schools”, such as Phenomenology, which brings a unique perspective to the debate lying outside the traditional approach of physicists. From this perspective questions related to the act of being an observer, its essential subjective nature and the proper context of physics can be explored. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, March 13, 2017 9:48AM - 10:24AM |
A40.00004: What If Bergson Won? Invited Speaker: Joseph Martin The Physicist and the Philosopher raises a number of issues about the antagonism of physics toward philosophy that began to emerge in the early-twentieth century. The triumph of Einstein's view of time over Bergson's in the scientific community is nominally indicative of an inflection point at which scientists in general, and physicists in particular, began to command cultural authority and resources once firmly held by philosophers. And yet, twentieth and twenty-first century physics has numerous continuities with its natural philosophical roots in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. A counterfactual foray into a Bergson victory can shed some light on the consequences of the counter-philosophical tradition for twentieth century physics. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, March 13, 2017 10:24AM - 11:00AM |
A40.00005: Einstein's Phobia of Philosophy Invited Speaker: Alberto Martinez The famous philosopher Henri Bergson criticized Einstein's special theory of relativity by imagining giants, microbes, two-dimensional beings, and a "supreme consciousness." He argued that Einstein had arbitrarily made a sharp distinction between local and distant events and that Einstein confused time itself with mere clock measurements. I will discuss why Einstein dodged Bergson's pushy efforts to inject more subjectivity into relativity theory by explaining how Einstein, as a lonely young man, developed his critical views on philosophy. [Preview Abstract] |
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