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The Mechanical versus the Mathematical Conception of Nature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2022

Philipp Frank
Translated by
Philipp Shorr
Philipp Frank*
Affiliation:
German University, Prague
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Extract

When science of the 20th century is spoken of in opposition to that of the 19th century, a particularly characteristic attribute is often cited: namely, that since the time of Galileo and Newton the task of science has been to explain everything mechanistically. By analogy the world was to be conceived as a great machine. But the theories of the 20th century, above all the relativity and quantum theories, caused a revolution in science. It is seen today that nature can be described and understood not ‘mechanistically’ but only through abstract mathematical formulas. The world is no longer a machine but a mathematical formula.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , January 1937 , pp. 41 - 74
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1937

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