Philosophical Problems of Space and Time
 | |
| Author | Adolf Grünbaum |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Space and time |
| Published |
1963 (first edition) 1973 (second edition) |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 884 (second edition) |
| ISBN | 978-9027703583 |
Philosophical Problems of Space and Time is a 1963 book about the nature of space and time by Adolf Grünbaum.
Summary
Grünbaum argues that physical geometry and chronometry are in part matters of convention because continuous physical space and time are metrically amorphous.[1] He criticizes the views of a number of other philosophers, including Ernest Nagel and Jacques Maritain, arguing that the former misinterprets the philosopher of science Henri Poincaré and that in The Degrees of Knowledge (1932) the latter presents an unsound and incorrect interpretation of the nature of geometry.[2]
Scholarly reception
Robert S. Cohen and Marx W. Wartofsky write that Philosophical Problems of Space and Time was "promptly recognized to be one of the few major works in the philosophy of the natural sciences of this generation" upon its publication in 1963.[3]
Philosopher Philip L. Quinn called Grünbaum's thesis about physical geometry and chronometry "striking" in The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (1995).[1]
References
Footnotes
- 1 2 Quinn 2005. p. 355.
- ↑ Grünbaum 1974. pp. 91, 148-150.
- ↑ Cohen 1974. p. xiii.
Bibliography
- Books
- Cohen, Robert S.; Wartofsky, Marx W. (1974). Philosophical Problems of Space and Time. Boston: D. Reidel Publishing Company. ISBN 90 277 0358 2.
- Grünbaum, Adolf (1974). Philosophical Problems of Space and Time. Boston: D. Reidel Publishing Company. ISBN 90 277 0358 2.
- Quinn, Philip L. (2005). Honderich, Ted, ed. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-926479-1.