Can we trust Einstein’s accounts of the genesis of special relativity? |
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| Authors: | Olivier Darrigol |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Philosophy, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA;2. Department of Philosophy, Boston College, Boston, MA, USA;1. Department of Philosophy, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey;2. Department of Mathematics, University of Innsbruck, Austria;1. University of Urbino, DISPeA, Via Timoteo Viti 10, 61029, Urbino PU, Italy;2. Department of Philosophy, University of Geneva, rue de Candolle 5, CH-1211, Genève 4, Switzerland;1. University of Notre Dame, 100 Malloy Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, United states;2. University of Illinois at Chicago, United states |
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| Abstract: | There are three kinds of sources available to reconstruct the reflections that led Einstein to special relativity: a few contemporary letters and documents, his impersonal accounts of the genesis of this theory, and recollections of his own path. At first glance, contradictions within and between these sources hamper the reliability of Einstein’s accounts. Yet, a closer analysis reveals much more consistency than foreseen and helps eliminate the dubious, contradictory elements. It then becomes possible to combine the three kinds of sources to produce a minimally speculative and yet fairly coherent account of the genesis of special relativity. |
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| Keywords: | Einstein Special relativity Recollections Reconstruction |
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