Berlin 2015 – scientific programme

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AGPhil: Arbeitsgruppe Philosophie der Physik

AGPhil 11: Extending General Relativity

AGPhil 11.1: Invited Talk

Friday, March 20, 2015, 14:00–14:45, A 060

A virtuous theorist's theoretical virtues: Einstein on physics vs. math and experience vs. unification — •Jeroen van Dongen — University of Amsterdam/Utrecht University

When Albert Einstein formulated the general theory of relativity, he combined a physical and mathematical approach, as Renn c.s. have shown. He retained and explicitly referred to these categories also in his later work in unified field theory, but emphasized their usefulness differently, just as his later recollections of how he found general relativity gradually changed. These altered recollections were not only the consequence of his new, highly mathematical unification program, but also served as an advertisement for that program: Einstein enlisted idealizations of his self as justification for his highly controversial work.