Space, Time and Einstein - Softcover

Kennedy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 077352472X ISBN 13: 9780773524729

Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2003

Synopsis

An enlightening introduction to the philosophy of time and space. J.B. Kennedy offers an introduction to one of the liveliest and most popular fields in philosophy - time and space - aimed specifically at a beginning readership with no background in philosophy or science. He goes to the philosophical heart of the issues without recourse to jargon, mathematics, or logical formulas and introduces Einstein's revolutionary ideas in a clear and simple way, as well as concepts and arguments of other relevant philosophers, both ancient and modern. Current debates in philosophy and physics are also handled with exemplary clarity and Kennedy is able to provide readers with a real sense of where we have come from and where we are going. The writing is engaging, lively, and entertaining and serves to introduce the subject to beginning students as well as providing a clear statement of the "state of the debate" for a popular science readership. Kennedy covers such topics as Einstein's special and general relativity, how to build an atom bomb, the four-dimensional universe, the possibility of time travel, the impossibility of motion, whether space curves, the big bang, black holes, and the idea of inflationary and accelerating universes.

About this title

Review

"A wealth of information and reflection presented as simply as the material allows - A masterful blending of physics, mathematics, metaphysics, ethical reflections, intellectual history and historical context. A good text for an introductory course on the philosophy of relativity, or background reading for a more advanced course." - International Journal of Philosophical Studies "A very clear and enjoyable book. A real strength is the way it relates issues about space and time that physicists have grappled with, over the history of science, to deep and longstanding philosophical issues. Introductory books sometimes make passing reference to the deep philosophical questions, but I've never read one that introduces them so clearly, and then uses them so effectively, to enliven and illuminate the issues." - Carl Hoefer, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona

About the Author

J. B. Kennedy is a visiting lecturer in the history and philosophy of science at the University of Manchester.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 077352472X
• ISBN 13: 9780773524729
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192