Welcome to the Physics and Philosophy of Space and Time course web page. This course is offered Spring Semester 1998. Here we will provide information about the course as well as materials. Both lecture materials and other background materials will be provided as the course developes.

Note that we intend to make extensive use of this web page. Please refer to it on a regular basis for occasional extra materials, lecture notes, and hand-outs. This web page is the only source for the contents of the manuscript The Evolution of the Concepts of Space and Time. The web page address is

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http://physics.bgsu.edu/p433/ppst.html

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Course Instructors:

• Comer Duncan, Professor of Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 173 Oveman Hall; Office Hours by appointment; Telephone: 372 8108; you may also visit my web page.

• Michael Bradie, Professor of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, 325 Shatzel Hall, Office Hours by appointment: Telephone: 372 8372

Course materials:

• Selected sections of The Evolution of the Concepts of Space and Time, a manuscript by Professors Bradie and Duncan.
• Hand-outs on various space and time topics will be provided.
• When possible, links in this web page to the lectures and selected hand-outs will be made as the term proceeds.
• A bibliography of some key references will be provided.

Course Objectives:

This course is an introduction to the philosophy and physics of space and time. Among the topics to be covered are Zeno's paradoxes, the dispute between Newton and Leibnitz on the nature of space and time, the relationship between geometry and physics, a survey of the foundations of the theory of the special theory of relativity, the geometrization of gravitation by Einstein's general theory of relativity and gravitation. The emphasis is on a discussion of the conceptual foundations and a tracing of the evolution of the concepts of space and time from the pre-socratics to the present day. The treatment is essentially non-mathematical with some inclusion of mathematical concepts needed to fill out the development. Among the more philosophical issues, we will examine the relation of models to reality, the role of convention in scientific theories, questions of evidence and testability of scientific models, and questions of determinism and causality.

Requirements for the course:

A knowledge of mathematics at least at the level of high school. Knowing calculus is a plus. Any further study in mathematics would be helpful, but not necessarily a requirement.

Grading:

There will be two term papers. The first will be due on March 19 and will cover material from the first half of the course. The second paper will be due April 30 and will cover material from the second half of the course. We will hand out term paper topics at a later date, as well as discuss our requirements on the content of the papers.

There will be a number of weekly homework exercises - one or two problems that will test your understanding of the materials. These will be distributed on Thursdays and collected the following Tuesday.

The course grade will be determined from the performance on these two papers along with an assessment of the student's class participation. You are expected to attend class regularly and be prepared to discuss the assigned reading material. The class participation factor may raise your grade but will not lower it.