Philosophy of Mathematics and Natural Science
2021/09/14 by Hermann Weyl
Arts and Humanities · #Classical Philosophy and Thought
paper · doi:10.2307/j.ctv1t1kftd
openalex publication_date 2021/09/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
Abstract
When mathematician Hermann Weyl decided to write a book on philosophy, he faced what he referred to as conflicts of conscience--the objective nature of science, he felt, did not mesh easily with the incredulous, uncertain nature of philosophy. Yet the two disciplines were already intertwined. In Philosophy of Mathematics and Natural Science, Weyl examines how advances in philosophy were led by scientific discoveries--the more humankind understood about the physical world, the more curious we became. The book is divided into two parts, one on mathematics and the other on the physical sciences. Drawing on work by Descartes, Galileo, Hume, Kant, Leibniz, and Newton, Weyl provides readers with a guide to understanding science through the lens of philosophy. This is a book that no one but Weyl could have written--and, indeed, no one has written anything quite like it since.
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