David Hilbert's Lectures on the Foundations of Physics, 1915-1927

by Sauer, Tilman; Majer, Ulrich; Schirrmacher, Arne (COL); Schmidt, Heinz-Jurgen (COL)

• ISBN13: 9783540206064
• ISBN10: 354020606X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-10-01
• Publisher: Springer Nature

Summary

This Volume has three sections, General Relativity, Epistemological Issues, and Quantum Mechanics. The core of the first section is Hilbert's two semester lecture course on 'The Foundations of Physics' (1916/17). This is framed by Hilbert's published 'First and Second Communications' on the 'Grundlagen der Physik' (1915, 1917). The section closes with a lecture on the new concepts of space and time held in Bucharest in 1918. The epistemological issues concern the principle of causality in physics (1916), the intricate relation between nature and mathematical knowledge (1921), and the subtle question whether what Hilbert calls the 'world equations' are physically complete (1923). The last section deals with quantum theory in its early, advanced and mature stages. Hilbert held lecture courses on the mathematical foundations of quantum theory twice, before and after the breakthrough in 1926. These documents bear witness to one of the most dramatic changes in the foundations of science.

Table of Contents

Introduction

General Relativity

Overview of the texts on General Relativity

Hilbert's Lectures on The Foundations of Physics from 1915

Hilbert's Lectures on The Foundations of Physics, Main Lecture 1916/17

Hilbert's Lectures on FoP, Second Communication 1916

Hilbert's Lectures on Space and Time (Bukarest), 1918

Epistemological Issues

Overview of the texts

Hilbert's Lectures on The Causality Principle from 1916

Hilbert's Lectures on Nature and Mathematical Knowledge from 1921

Hilbert's Lectures on The World Equations from 1923

Quantum Mechanics

Overview of the texts

Hilbert's Lectures on Radiation Theory from 1916

Hilbert's Lectures on Mathematical Methods of Quantum Theory from 19222/23 and 1926/27

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