This book is the first serious, book-length study of the philosophical implications of relativity. It explains the relevant technical issues of general relativity theory and discusses how these issues bear upon philosophical problems about the nature of space and time, causality and laws of nature. Features include an analysis of time travel, The Big Bang and the Horizon Problem, Eternal Recurrence and Cyclic Time amongst other much debated issues today which have been brought to light in the the face of a series of theorems, due largely to Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose. Written by a leading philosopher, this book provides an overview of the technical literature as well as analytical commentary on its philosophical significance.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
...this book is a refreshing addition to the literature for we find that Earman not only provides excellent discussions but also clarifies (or in some instances re-defines) the standard definitions involved...the book is highly recommended. * AAHPSSS, 1998 * Earman provides a careful topographic analysis of some core regions that is written in a brilliant style. * Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook 1998 *
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Illustrationen
Maße
Höhe: 241 mm
Breite: 165 mm
Dicke: 29 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-19-509591-3 (9780195095913)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Autor*in
Professor of History and Philosophy of ScienceProfessor of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh
1. Introducing Spacetime Singularities and Acausalities ; 2. Defining, Characterizing, and Proving the Existence ; 3. Cosmic Censorship ; 4. Supertasks ; 5. The Big Bang and the Horizon Problem ; 6. Time Travel ; 7. Eternal; Recurrence, Cyclic Time, and All That ; 8. Afterword
