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This volume collects reflections on the role of philosophy in case studies in the history of science. Case studies have played a prominent role in recent history and philosophy of science. They have been used to illustrate, question, explore, or explicate philosophical points of view. Even if not explicitly so, historical narratives are always guided by philosophical background assumptions. But what happens if different philosophies lead to different narratives of the same historical episodes? Can historical case studies decide between competing philosophical viewpoints? What are the criteria that a case study has to fulfill in order to be philosophically relevant? Bringing together leading practitioners in the fields of history and philosophy of the physical and the life sciences, this volume addresses this methodological problem and proposes ways of rendering explicit philosophical assumptions of historical work.

Philosophy of science --- History as a science --- Science --- Philosophy and science --- History --- Historiography --- Philosophy --- Science - Historiography --- Science - Philosophy --- History. --- Philosophy and science. --- History of Science. --- Philosophy of Science.

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Volume 5 has three parts, dealing with General Relativity, Epistemological Issues, and Quantum Mechanics. The core of the first part is Hilbert's two semester lecture course on ˜The Foundations of Physics' (1916/17). This is framed by Hilbert's published ˜First and Second Communications' on the ˜Foundations of Physics' (1915, 1917) and by a selection of documents dealing with more specific topics like ˜The Principle of Causality' or a lecture on the new concepts of space and time held in Bucharest in 1918. The epistemological issues concern the intricate relation between nature and mathematical knowledge, in particular the question of irreversibility and objectivity (1921) as well as the subtle question whether what Hilbert calls the ˜world equations' are physically complete (1923). The last part deals with quantum theory in its early, advanced and mature stages. Hilbert held lecture courses on the mathematical foundations of quantum theory twice, before and after the breakthrough in 1926. These documents bear witness to one of the most dramatic changes in the foundations of science.

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This volume explores the interplay between mathematical and physical research and the interactions of twentieth-century scientists within their academic communities. Beginning with Einstein’s general theory of relativity, the authors investigate a series of dramatic discoveries and rival theories in physics that influenced the development of modern differential geometry. Other sections recount the numerous methods, like the resurgence of Weyl geometry, used by geometers to solve the problems revealed by those same innovations in space-time physics. The effect of general relativity on astronomy is also addressed, namely how astronomers worked through new theories like inflationary cosmology and Phoenix models. By including recent historical research and coupling this work with many disciplines’ unique perspectives, this text provides a rich picture of general relativity and cosmology over the course of the twentieth century. The increased study on the documentation of Einstein’s early scientific work has clarified the history of science for that time and profoundly altered the way scientists view their own work, as this interdisciplinary volume demonstrates.

General relativity (Physics) --- Physics --- Mathematics --- History --- Mathematics. --- Philosophy and science. --- Differential geometry. --- History. --- Gravitation. --- Quantum physics. --- History of Mathematical Sciences. --- Classical and Quantum Gravitation, Relativity Theory. --- Quantum Physics. --- Differential Geometry. --- Philosophy of Science. --- Relativistic theory of gravitation --- Relativity theory, General --- Gravitation --- Relativity (Physics) --- Quantum theory. --- Global differential geometry. --- Science --- Philosophy. --- Normal science --- Philosophy of science --- Geometry, Differential --- Quantum dynamics --- Quantum mechanics --- Quantum physics --- Mechanics --- Thermodynamics --- Science and philosophy --- Differential geometry --- Annals --- Auxiliary sciences of history --- Math --- Field theory (Physics) --- Matter --- Antigravity --- Centrifugal force --- Properties --- Geometry, Differential. --- Classical and Quantum Gravity.

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This volume explores the interplay between mathematical and physical research and the interactions of twentieth-century scientists within their academic communities. Beginning with Einstein’s general theory of relativity, the authors investigate a series of dramatic discoveries and rival theories in physics that influenced the development of modern differential geometry. Other sections recount the numerous methods, like the resurgence of Weyl geometry, used by geometers to solve the problems revealed by those same innovations in space-time physics. The effect of general relativity on astronomy is also addressed, namely how astronomers worked through new theories like inflationary cosmology and Phoenix models. By including recent historical research and coupling this work with many disciplines’ unique perspectives, this text provides a rich picture of general relativity and cosmology over the course of the twentieth century. The increased study on the documentation of Einstein’s early scientific work has clarified the history of science for that time and profoundly altered the way scientists view their own work, as this interdisciplinary volume demonstrates.

Philosophy of science --- Differential geometry. Global analysis --- Mathematics --- Theory of relativity. Unified field theory --- Quantum mechanics. Quantumfield theory --- Geophysics --- zwaartekracht --- quantumfysica --- quantumtheorie --- differentiaal geometrie --- time series analysis --- wetenschapsfilosofie --- wiskunde --- relativiteitstheorie --- geometrie