Abstract
The aim of the paper is this: Instead of presenting a provisional and necessarily insufficient characterization of what mathematical physics is, I will ask the reader to take it just as that, what he or she thinks or believes it is, yet to be prepared to revise his opinion in the light of what I am going to tell. Because this is precisely, what I intend to do. I will challenge some of the received or standard views about mathematical physics and replace them by a more sophisticated picture, which takes into account the methodological and philosophical roots of mathematical physics in Göttingen.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
1. Published writings of Hilbert
Hilbert, D. (1899), Grundlagen der Geometrie. Festschrift zur Feier der Enthüllung des GaussWeber-Denkmals in Göttingen. Teubner, Leipzig 1899.
Hilbert, D. (1900), “Mathematische Probleme”, lecture held at the International Congress of Mathematics in Paris 1900; first published in Nachrichten von der königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, pp. 253–297.
Hilbert, D. (1912), Grundzüge einer allgemeinen Theorie der linearen Integralgleichungen. Teubner, Leipzig, Berlin, 1912.
Hilbert, D. (1915), “Die Grundlagen der Physik”, Nachrichten von der Königl. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, pp. 395–407.
Hilbert, D. (1932), Gesammelte Abhandlungen, 3 Volumes, Springer, Berlin.
Hilbert, D. (1987), Grundlagen der Geometrie, mit Anhängen und Supplementen, ed. by Paul Ber-nays, 13. Auflage, Teubner, Stuttgart.
2. Unpublished manuscripts from the Nachlass
Hilbert, D. (1891), Projektive Geometrie, SUB 535.
Hilbert, D. (1893/4), Die Grundlagen der Geometrie, SUB 541.
Hilbert, D. (1898/9), Euklidische Geometrie, SUB 551.
Hilbert, D. (1904), Grundlagen der Geometrie, MI 10.
Hilbert, D. (1906), Mechanik der Kontinua, MI 25, 26.
Hilbert, D. (1927), Grundlagen der Geometrie, MI 75.
Hilbert, D. (1898), Mechanik, SUB 553.
Hilbert, D. (1902/3), Mechanik der Continua, MI 11.
Hilbert, D. (1911), Mechanik der Contiva, MI 41.
Hilbert, D. (1911/2), Kinetische Gastheorie, MI 42.
Hilbert, D. (1912), Strahlungstheorie, MI 43.
Hilbert, D. (1926/7), Mathematische Methoden der Quantentheorie, MI 73.
3. Other References
Boltzmann, L. (1897), Vorlesungen über die Principe der Mechanik; Theil I und II, Johann Ambrosius Barth, Leipzig, 1897 and 1904.
Brush, S.G. (1976), The Kind of Motion we Call Heat — A History of the Kinetic Theory of Gases in the 19th Century, Amsterdam - New York - Oxford, North Holland Publishing House. 1976.
Hertz, H. (1894), Die Prinzipien der Mechanik. (Gesammelte Werke. Band Ill.) Mit einem Vorworte von H. von Helmholtz. Johann Ambrosius Barth, Leipzig, 1894.
Ludwig, G. (1978), Die Grundstrukturen einer physikalischen Theorie, Springer, Berlin, 19902. Mach, E. (1899), Die Mechanik in ihrer Entwickelung historisch-kritisch dargestellt. F.A. Brock-haus, Leipzig, 1889.
Neumann, J. von (1932), Mathematische Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik, Springer, Berlin 1932.
Sauer, T. (1999), “The Relativity of Discovery: Hilbert’s First Note on the Foundations of Physics”. Archive for the History of Exact Sciences 53, pp. 529–575.
Wightman, A.S. (1976), “Hilbert’s Sixth Problem: Mathematical Treatment of the Axioms of Physics”, in Proceedings of the Symposium in pure Mathematics of the American Mathematical Society, ed. by F. E. Bowder.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Majer, U. (2001). The Axiomatic Method and the Foundations of Science: Historical Roots of Mathematical Physics in Göttingen (1900–1930). In: Rédei, M., Stöltzner, M. (eds) John von Neumann and the Foundations of Quantum Physics. Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook [2000], vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2012-0_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2012-0_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5651-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-2012-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive