Duration and Simultaneity: Bergson and the Einsteinian Universe (Philosophy of Science) - Softcover

Bergson, Henri

Softcover

ISBN 10: 190308301X ISBN 13: 9781903083017

Publisher: Clinamen Press Ltd, 1999

Synopsis

Bergson's central contention is that time is not measurable by any objective standard; in Duration and Simultaneity, that position is tried out against the major movement in physics of the day - Relativity. Bergson argues that Relativity fails to live up to the promise of a truly relative physics, and counter to its own spirit retains some of the objectivist assumptions of previous world views. Duration and Simultaneity was conceived in the desire to make good the new paradigm to which Relativity was bound to lay claim; in the desire to be more Einsteinian than Einstein.

About this title

Synopsis:

This philosophical text deals with the theme of time. A central contention is that science and philosophy alike systematically misrepresent the nature of time. Bergson suggests that the traditional association between the model of space and time is incoherent. Unlike space, time is not measurable by objective standard. This contention is tried out against the major movement in physics of the day - relativity. Tracing the development of the theory from "special" to "general" relativity, Bergson finds that a fundamental requirement of the theory is an impossibility - the assumption that the experiences of two observers moving at different speeds within two different physical systems might be thought of as simultaneous. This is to ignore the limits of possible experience. As with much of Bergson's thought the book has had a complex reception in both the world of physics and the world of philosophy. This edition is supplemented by a number of extracts bearing on the debate of Bergson's critique of relativity, including an interview between Einstein and Bergson.

The introduction appraises this reception and examines the currency of Bergson's thought on time for the philosophy of science today.

About this edition

• Publisher: Clinamen Press Ltd
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 190308301X
• ISBN 13: 9781903083017
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 218
• Editor: Durie Robin