Introduction

Summary

Fifty years after the untimely death of Hans Reichenbach, the evolution of his views on space, time, and motion is receiving much due critical attention. While his mature views, expressed most famously in his book Philosophy of Space and Time, have long been commented upon, challenged, and amended by some of the most important figures in contemporary discussions of the philosophical foundations of physics, only in the last decade or so – a couple of generations removed from the heyday of logical empiricism – is the work of Reichenbach and contemporaries like Moritz Schlick and Rudolf Carnap being widely considered in terms of its value to the history of ideas.

This collection seeks to contribute to that growing conversation by bringing together English translations of nine essays from 1920–25, the period preceding Philosophy of Space and Time, that have not appeared in earlier collections of Reichenbach's writings. These articles range from technical discussions published in scientific journals, to overtly philosophical discussions and responses to philosophical opponents published in philosophical journals, to semipopular pieces designed to set out Reichenbach's interpretation of relativity theory in clear, explicit terms. It is hoped that by providing access to additional “data points,” the discussion of the emergence of Reichenbach's later views may be advanced.

The first half of the 1920s was a period of crucial importance both to the burgeoning movement that would become analytic philosophy and to the philosophical development of Hans Reichenbach personally.