A Philosopher Of Nature Essay Research Paper

A Philosopher Of Nature Essay, Research Paper

A PHILOSOPHER OF NATURE

December 1, 1998

Paper # 2

Intro to Philosophy

Fifty old ages ago the individual greatest philosopher walked upon this Earth. How can I be so audacious as to mention to one adult male as The Greatest philosopher? The reply is simple. All philosophers ask inquiries. Few of these inquiries will bring forth earth-shattering disclosures and even fewer will alter the universe. Out of the smattering of philosophers who have made a difference in the universe I can believe of merely 1 who has, by usage of an astonishing head and cognition of complex mathematics, changed the universe forever.

Albert Einstein was born in Ulm Germany on March 14, 1879, and spent his young person in Munich, where his household owned a little store that manufactured electric machinery. He did non speak until the age of three, but even as a young person he showed a superb wonder about nature and an ability to understand hard mathematical constructs. At the age of 12 he taught himself Euclidean geometry.

Einstein hated the dull regimentation and sterile spirit of school in Munich. When perennial concern failure led the household to go forth Germany for Milan, Italy, Einstein, who was so 15 old ages old, used the chance to retreat from the school. He spent a twelvemonth with his parents in Milan, and when it became clear that he would hold to do his ain manner in the universe, he finished secondary school in Arrau Switzerland, and entered the Swiss National Polytechnic in Z? rich. Einstein did non bask the methods of direction at that place. He frequently cut categories and used the clip to analyze Physicss on his ain or to play his darling fiddle. He passed his scrutinies and graduated in 1900 by analyzing the notes of a schoolmate. His professors did non believe extremely of him and would non urge him for a university place.

For two old ages Einstein worked as a coach and replacement instructor. In 1902 he secured a place as an tester in the Swiss patent office in Bern. In 1903 he married Mileva Maric who had been a schoolmate of his at the Polytechnic ( & # 8220 ; Einstein, Albert & # 8221 ; ) . They had two boies but finally divorced. Einstein subsequently remarried.

After 1919, Einstein became internationally renowned. He accrued awards and awards, including the Nobel Prize in natural philosophies in 1921, from assorted universe scientific societies. His visit to any portion of the universe became a national event ; lensmans and newsmans followed him everyplace. While repenting his loss of privateness, Einstein capitalized on his celebrity to foster his ain personal and political positions.

The two societal motions that received his full personal support were Pacifism, resistance to war and other force, and Zionism, motion to unify the Judaic people of the Diaspora ( expatriate ) and settle them in Palestine. During World War I he was one of a smattering of faculty members willing to publically condemn Germany & # 8217 ; s engagement in the war. After the war his continued support of Pacifist and Zionist ends made him the mark of syrupy onslaughts by anti-semitic and right & # 8211 ; flying elements in Germany. Even his scientific theories were publically ridiculed, particularly the theory of relativity ( & # 8220 ; Einstein, Albert & # 8221 ; ) .

When Hitler came to power, Einstein instantly decided to go forth Germany for the United States. He took a place at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. While go oning his attempts on behalf of universe Zionism, Einstein renounced his former Pacifist base in the face of the amazing menace to humankind posed by the Nazi government in Germany.

In 1939 Einstein collaborated with several other physicists in composing a missive to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, indicating out the possibility of doing an atomic bomb and the likeliness that the German authorities was shiping on such a class. The missive, which bore merely Einstein & # 8217 ; s signature, helped impart urgency to attempts in the U.S. to construct the atomic bomb, but Einstein played no function in the work and cognize nil about it at the clip.

After the war, Einstein was active in the instance of international disarming and universe authorities. He continued his active support of Zionism but declined the offer made by the leaders of Israel to go president of that state. In the U.S. during the late fortiess and early & # 8216 ; 50s he spoke out on the demand for the states intellectuals to do any forfeit necessary to continue political freedom. Einstein died in Princeton on April 18, 1955.

Einstein & # 8217 ; s works cover countries of natural philosophies which many of us can non to the full understand. He introduced thoughts which may one twenty-four hours convey the many enigmas of the existence into light, thoughts which made it possible for adult male to destruct himself or establish himself toward bigger an

d better things, perchance the following measure in the procedure of rational development.

Many people have jobs holding with Einstein & # 8217 ; s work. The job that others have with his work is non because it was excessively mathematically complex or technically vague ; the job resulted, instead, from Einstein & # 8217 ; s beliefs about the nature of good theories and the relationship between experiment and theory. Although he maintained that the lone beginning of cognition is experience, he besides believed that scientific theories are the free creative activity of a eventually tuned physical intuition and that the premises on which theories are based can non be connected logically to experiment. A good theory, hence, is one in which a minimal figure of posits is required to account for the physical grounds. This spareness of posits, a characteristic of all Einstein & # 8217 ; s work, was what made his work so hard for co-workers to grok, allow alone support.

My captivation with Einstein as a philosopher does non stem from his places on Pacifism or Zionism. It is the ability he held to philosophise once inexplicable elements in nature and the deductions of his thoughts today. Einstein & # 8217 ; s Special Theory of Relativity ( e=mc2 ) made it possible for us to pull out astonishing sums of power from one of the smallest elements in nature, an atom. His General Theory of Relativity made the being of black holes and wormholes possible. A black hole is a heavenly organic structure so highly heavy with a gravitative pull so intense that visible radiation can non get away. Since there is no light coming from a black hole it can & # 8217 ; t be seen, nevertheless scientists have seen grounds of them. The chance of a wormhole makes it possible to go freely through the clip and infinite continuum. Possibly Einstein & # 8217 ; s most mind-boggling theory, and one of great involvement to me, is the Unified Field Theory. This theory proposes to unite the four known interactions or forces & # 8212 ; the strong, electromagnetic, weak, and gravitative forces & # 8212 ; by a simple set of general Torahs. Four distinguishable forces are known to command all the ascertained interactions in affair: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force ( a short-range force that holds atomic nuclei together ) , and the weak force ( the force responsible for slow atomic procedures, such as beta decay ) ( & # 8220 ; Unified Field Theory & # 8221 ; ) . The efforts to develop a incorporate field theory are grounded in the belief that all physical phenomena should finally be interpretable by some implicit in integrity. Einstein spent the last 30 old ages of his life seeking to develop this theory without an acceptable consequence. However other scientists did to use his findings.

During the Second World War, all participant states were looking for a manner to stop belligerencies rapidly, no affair how antic the mode. If some unorthodox or radical innovation could make the fast one, all the better, every bit long as the war terminated triumphantly for them. The U.S. Navy seemed obsessed with the thought of the perfect disguise, invisibleness. If merely one of their ships could be made unseeable it could perchance stop the war. On October 28, 1943, an experiment was conducted at the Philadelphia Naval Yard. This event became known as & # 8220 ; The Philadelphia Experiment & # 8221 ; ( Moore ) .

The U.S.S. Eldridge lay in its dock with dozenss of electronic equipment on board. When the experiment affecting the Unified Field Theory began the ship and all its residents vanished and were teleported to the Norfolk Naval Yard. The ship reappeared within a few proceedingss but the crew would ne’er be the same once more. Some walked through solid walls ; others became molecularly fused with the ship. More than half went insane due to the effects of throbing energy Fieldss and were confined to the Bethesda Naval Hospital out of contact with everybody. The Navy denies that any such experiment took topographic point.

No 1 has perfectly confirmed the events that took topographic point on that twenty-four hours in October of 1943, but the possibilities are brain-rattling if they did really happen. The Philadelphia Experiment is one of many inexplicable consequences of the thought of Albert Einstein. I believe Einstein experienced premature ripening of the human head. His thought procedures may hold been 500 old ages in front of his clip. We can larn more from him than atomic bombs and black holes. His theories are the design for our hereafter. We will go on larning from him good into the following millenium.

& # 8220 ; Einstein, Albert & # 8221 ; , Microsoft? Encarta? 98 Encyclopedia. ? 1993-1997. Microsoft Corporation.

Moore, William ( 1980 ) . The Philadelphia Experiment. New York: Fawcett Crest.

The Philadelphia Experiment. Http: //www.ndirect.co.uk/`narnia/phil1.htm

& # 8220 ; Unified Field Theory & # 8221 ; , Microsoft? Encarta? Encyclopedia? 1993-1997. Microsoft Corporation.