On the New Book Shelf: Understanding Space-Time

Understanding Space-Time : the philosophical development of physics from Newton to Einstein, by Robert DiSalle (now on the new book shelf) was recently examined by Michael Freidman in an extensive essay review, published in Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 38 (2007): 216-225. Read the review on the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center (for OhioLINK library users only).

Friedman states "Robert DiSalle’s new book introduces, and beautifully exemplifies, a novel approach to the philosophy of space–time physics." He concludes with the observation, "Not only does it bring a fresh perspective to the familiar historical development from Newton to Einstein, it integrates this development with the parallel history of philosophy of space, time, and geometry from Kant through Helmholtz and Poincare´ , and it suggests a powerful response, as well, to the Kuhnian problem of conceptual incommensurability. DiSalle’s book, despite its relatively modest length, is a magnificent achievement in the history and philosophy of space–time physics, which no one seriously interested in the topic can now afford to ignore."