Critical Notice

Bertrand Russell's The Analysis of Matter : Its Historical Context and Contemporary Interest

Datos Bibliográficos

ID14432241
AutoresWilliam Demopoulos (Western University), Michael Friedman (0000-0002-7477-563X)
Año1985
Volumen52
Número4
Páginas621-639
Fecha de publicación1985-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPhilosophy of Science (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0031-8248 • E-ISSN: 1539-767X
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1086/289281
OpenAlexW1970657203
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas53
Referencias citadas8

The Analysis of Matter is perhaps best known for marking Russell's rejection of phenomenalism (in both its classical and methodological forms) and his development of a variety of Lockean representationalism–-Russell's causal theory of perception. This occupies Part 2 of the work. Part 1, which is certainly less well known, contains many observations on twentieth-century physics. Unfortunately, Russell's discussion of relativity and the foundations of physical geometry is carried out in apparent ignorance of Reichenbach's and Carnap's investigations in the same period. The issue of conventionalism in its then contemporary form is simply not discussed. The only writers of the period who appear to have had any influence on Russell's conception of the philosophical issues raised by relativity were Whitehead and Eddington. Even the work of A. A. Robb fails to receive any extended discussion; 1 although Robb's causal theory is certainly relevant to many of Russell's concerns, especially those voiced in Part 3, regarding the construction of points and the topology of space-time. In the case of quantum mechanics, the idiosyncrasy of Russell's selection of topics is more understandable, since the Heisenberg and Schrödinger theories were only just discovered. Nevertheless, it seems bizarre to a contemporary reader that Russell should have given such emphasis 2 to G. N. Lewis's suggestion that an atom emits light only when there is another atom to receive it–-a suggestion reminiscent of Leibniz, and one to which Russell frequently returns. In short, the philosophical problems of modern physics with which Russell deals seem remote from the perspective of post-positivist philosophy of physics

Analytic philosophy · Contemporary philosophy · Context (archaeology) · Conventionalism · Direct and indirect realism · Epistemology · Ignorance · Notice · Perception · History · Law · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Philosophy, Science, and History · Relativity and Gravitational Theory