Mind and Nature: Selected Writings on Philosophy, Mathematics, and Physics by Hermann Weyl (PDF)

Description

Hermann Weyl (1885-1955) was one of the twentieth century’s most important mathematicians, as well as a seminal figure in the development of quantum physics and general relativity. He was also an eloquent writer with a lifelong interest in the philosophical implications of the startling new scientific developments with which he was so involved. Mind and Nature is a collection of Weyl’s most important general writings on philosophy, mathematics, and physics, including pieces that have never before been published in any language or translated into English, or that have long been out of print. Complete with Peter Pesic’s introduction, notes, and bibliography, these writings reveal an unjustly neglected dimension of a complex and fascinating thinker. In addition, the book includes more than twenty photographs of Weyl and his family and colleagues, many of which are previously unpublished. Included here are Weyl’s exposition of his important synthesis of electromagnetism and gravitation, which Einstein at first hailed as “a first-class stroke of genius”; two little-known letters by Weyl and Einstein from 1922 that give their contrasting views on the philosophical implications of modern physics; and an essay on time that contains Weyl’s argument that the past is never completed and the present is not a point. Also included are two book-length series of lectures, The Open World (1932) and Mind and Nature (1934), each a masterly exposition of Weyl’s views on a range of topics from modern physics and mathematics. Finally, four retrospective essays from Weyl’s last decade give his final thoughts on the interrelations among mathematics, philosophy, and physics, intertwined with reflections on the course of his rich life.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This book is not simple. You need to have some basic understanding not only of math and physics but of their history as well. Having a general overview of Western philosophy also helps. But if you have this much under your belt, then you will really benefit from Weyl’s perspective.Hermann Weyl was responsible as much as other people like Einstein and Dirac for our modern physics. He was also a prominent mathematician that Freeman Dyson put up there with Hilbert and Poincaré. Here is a chronology of his philosophical essays about math and science, including The Open World essay.The book is really freaking me out. It is as mind expanding as any psychedelic drug! Wely is full of deep and penetrating insights. It amazes me how deep the man was. He makes the current generation of physicists seem like rank amateurs. Upon reading his subtle and sophisticated viewpoints, I am getting insight why physics is currently frozen and stuck in ruts like string theory and multiverse mania. There was a different mindset when relativity and quantum mechanics were invented that is illustrated in this book. This mindset seems to have evaporated and been replaced by something that seems more like the fawning of fan boys or a religion with today’s crop of physicists who seem to be just spinning their wheels. There needs to be a return to the kind of thinking that intertwines a deep understanding not just of the math, not just of the science, but also the philosophy, and a deep appreciation of their interactions. Then, maybe modern physics can restart its stuttering engines and once again start moving us forward to grander and cooler things.So, yes, with the appropriate background, you should buy this book. I got interested in Weyl from hearing and reading Greg Chaitin talk about him. Chaitin was right. This guy is a must read.

⭐I wanted to know Weyl as a human being so I wouldn’t be so frightened when I read his mathematics and physics someday. I got to know him a little in this book.

⭐Why 3 stars? It has nothing to do with the context of the book but the price.One may legitimately give 5 stars to any of Hermann Weyl books– as he was not only a grand mathematician but also a prominent philosopher and physicist who with his open-mindedness and creativity contributed much to each faculty in the 20th century. However one may wonder why his books written long ago cannot be offered by Amazon as free e-books (in Kindle edition). Of course if you are a researcher, the Kindle edition lacks the page number you need in your reference. In any case, there is no such a short-come in the FREE PDF versions of Weyl books that you can easily find on internet and download, they include:__The Continuum__Space, Time, Matter__Symmetry__Philosophy of Mathematics__Mind and Nature__The Theory of Groups and Quantum Mechanics

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