Giovanelli, Marco (2015) ‘. . . But I Still Can’t Get Rid of a Sense of Artificiality’: The Reichenbach-Einstein Debate on the Geometrization of the Electromagnetic Field. [Preprint]

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Abstract

This paper analyzes correspondence between Reichenbach and Einstein from the spring of 1926, concerning what it means to ‘geometrize’ a physical field. The content of a typewritten note that Reichenbach sent to Einstein on that occasion is reconstructed, showing that it was an early version of §49 of the untranslated Appendix to his Philosophie der Raum-Zeit-Lehre, on which Reichenbach was working at the time. This paper claims that the toy-geometrization of the electromagnetic field that Reichenbach presented in his note should not be regarded as merely a virtuoso mathematical exercise, but as an additional argument supporting the core philosophical message of his 1928 monograph. This paper concludes by suggesting that Reichenbach’s infamous ‘relativization of geometry’ was only a stepping stone on the way to his main concern—the question of the ‘geometrization of gravitation’

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Giovanelli, Marco marco.giovanelli@uni-tuebingen.de
Keywords:	Hans Reichenbach, Albert Einstein, Unified Field Theories, Geometrization
Subjects:	General Issues > Conventionalism General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Logical Positivism/Logical Empiricism General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Depositing User:	Dr. Marco Giovanelli
Date Deposited:	24 Dec 2015 13:11
Last Modified:	06 Apr 2016 20:45
Item ID:	11817
Subjects:	General Issues > Conventionalism General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Logical Positivism/Logical Empiricism General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Date:	November 2015
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/11817

Available Versions of this Item

• ‘. . . But I Still Can’t Get Rid of a Sense of Artificiality’: The Reichenbach-Einstein Debate on the Geometrization of the Electromagnetic Field. (deposited 24 Dec 2015 13:11) [Currently Displayed]
  • ‘. . . But I Still Can’t Get Rid of a Sense of Artificiality’: The Reichenbach-Einstein Debate on the Geometrization of the Electromagnetic Field. (deposited 05 Oct 2016 12:40)

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