1st Edition

Time, Space and Philosophy

By Christopher Ray Copyright 1991
    280 Pages
    by Routledge

    280 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date and accessible introduction to the philosophy of space and time.
    Ray considers in detail the central questions of space and time which arizse from the ideas of Zeno, Newton, Mach, Leibniz and Einstein. Time, Space and Philosophy extends the debate in many areas:absolute simultaneity is examined as well as black holes, the big bang and even time travel.
    Time, Space and Philosophy will be invaluable to the student of philosophy and science and will be of considerable interest to mathematics students. The clear, non-technical approach should also make it suitable to for the general reader.

    Introduction 1 ZENO AND THE LIMITS OF SPACE AND TIME 2 CLOCKS, GEOMETRY AND RELATIVITY 3 TRAVELLING LIGHT 4 A CONVENTIONAL WORLD? 5 NEWTON AND THE REALITY OF SPACE AND TIME 6 MACH AND THE MATERIAL WORLD 7 EINSTEIN AND ABSOLUTE SPACETIME 8 TIME TRAVEL 9 EINSTEIN’S GREATEST MISTAKE? 10 COSMOLOGICAL CONUNDRUMS; CONCLUSION: RELATIVITY—JUST ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL?

    Biography

    Christopher Ray is Assistant Professor in History and Philosophy of Science at Portland State University, Oregon. His published works include The Evolution of Relativity (1987).