ten Hagen, Sjang L.
(2020)
The Local versus the Global in the History of Relativity: The Case of Belgium.
[Preprint]
Abstract
This article contributes to a global history of relativity, by exploring how Einstein’s theory was appropriated in Belgium. This may sound as a contradiction in terms, yet the early-twentiethcentury Belgian context, because of its cultural diversity and reflectiveness of global conditions (the
principal example being the First World War), proves well-suited to expose transnational flows and patterns in the global history of relativity. The attempts of Belgian physicist Théophile de Donder to contribute to relativity physics during the 1910s and 1920s illustrate the role of the war in shaping the transnational networks through which relativity circulated. The local attitudes of conservative Belgian Catholic scientists and philosophers, who denied that relativity was philosophically significant, exemplify a global pattern: while critics of relativity feared to become marginalized by the scientific,political, and cultural revolutions that Einstein and his theory were taken to represent, supporters sympathized with these revolutions.
Available Versions of this Item
-
The Local versus the Global in the History of Relativity: The Case of Belgium. (deposited 02 Feb 2021 02:56)
[Currently Displayed]
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years
Plum Analytics
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[feed]](http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/style/images/feed-icon-32x32.png){kind=icon}