Princeton University Press eBooks· 2021· Book chapter
Philosophy of Mathematics and Natural Science
- 648citations
- 2021year
Short summary
Hermann Weyl's 2021 book explores the historical interplay between scientific discovery and philosophical inquiry, arguing that advances in understanding the physical world have historically driven philosophical curiosity.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- The book examines the historical link between scientific discoveries and philosophical advancements.
- Weyl addresses the perceived tension between the objective nature of science and the subjective nature of philosophy.
- It is divided into two parts: one on mathematics and the other on the physical sciences.
- The work draws on the philosophies of prominent figures such as Descartes, Galileo, Hume, Kant, Leibniz, and Newton.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
When mathematician Hermann Weyl decided to write a book on philosophy, he faced what he referred to as conflicts of conscience--the objective nature of science, he felt, did not mesh easily with the incredulous, uncertain nature of philosophy. Yet the two disciplines were already intertwined. In Philosophy of Mathematics and Natural Science, Weyl examines how advances in philosophy were led by scientific discoveries--the more humankind understood about the physical world, the more curious we became. The book is divided into two parts, one on mathematics and the other on the physical sciences. Drawing on work by Descartes, Galileo, Hume, Kant, Leibniz, and Newton, Weyl provides readers with a guide to understanding science through the lens of philosophy. This is a book that no one but Weyl could have written--and, indeed, no one has written anything quite like it since.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Princeton University Press eBooks, 2021 · DOI ↗
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Field: Philosophy
PhilosophyArts and Humanities