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The Ideology of Relativity: The Case of the Clock Paradox.

Authors :
Hayes, Peter
Source :
Social Epistemology. Jan-Mar2009, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p57-78. 22p. 2 Charts.
Publication Year :
2009

Abstract

In the interwar period there was a significant school of thought that repudiated Einstein's theory of relativity on the grounds that it contained elementary inconsistencies. Some of these critics held extreme right-wing and anti-Semitic views, and this has tended to discredit their technical objections to relativity as being scientifically shallow. This paper investigates an alternative possibility: that the critics were right and that the success of Einstein's theory in overcoming them was due to its strengths as an ideology rather than as a science. The clock paradox illustrates how relativity theory does indeed contain inconsistencies that make it scientifically problematic. These same inconsistencies, however, make the theory ideologically powerful. The implications of this argument are examined with respect to Thomas Kuhn and Karl Popper's accounts of the philosophy of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
02691728
Volume :
23
Issue :
1
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Social Epistemology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
37184850
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/02691720902741399