Einstein's Bergson problem

communication, consensus and good science

Jimena Canales

pp. 53-72

in: Yuval Dolev, Michael Roubach (eds), Cosmological and psychological time, Berlin, Springer, 2016

Abstract

Does a privileged frame of reference exist? Part of Einstein's success consisted in eliminating Bergson's objections to relativity theory, which were consonant with those of the most important scientists who had worked on the topic: Henri Poincaré, Hendrik Lorentz and Albert A. Michelson. In the early decades of the century, Bergson's fame, prestige and influence surpassed that of the physicist. Once considered as one of the most renowned intellectuals of his era and an authority on the nature of time, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2010) does not even include him under the entry of "time." How was it possible to write off from history a figure that was once so prominent? Through an analysis of behind-the-scenes of science correspondence, this article traces the ascendance of Einstein's views of time at the expense of Bergson's.

Cited authors

Bergson Henri

Einstein Albert

Poincaré Henri