Relativity: An Epistemological Appraisal
- 1 October 1957
- journal article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Philosophy of Science
- Vol. 24 (4) , 297-307
- https://doi.org/10.1086/287551
Abstract
This paper is the forerunner of an extensive logical analysis of the relativity idea, in which an axiomatic structure based upon the principles of topology is developed. It is meant to expose the manner in which relativity stretches from the pole of pure conception to that of factual observation, from the a priori to the a posteriori. We take pains to show, in connection with special relativity, precisely which elements are postulational and which are verifiable empirically. Our attempt can be somewhat naively characterized as an effort to show how misguided it is to “derive” relativity from such experimental facts as the Michelson-Morley experiment—as so many textbooks profess to do.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Logical and Philosophical Foundations of the Special Theory of RelativityAmerican Journal of Physics, 1955
- Variation of the Rate of Decay of Mesotrons with MomentumPhysical Review B, 1941