person1882-1944

Arthur Eddington

Disciplines:

philosophy of science/philosophy of physics

Summary

British astrophysicist who confirmed Einstein's general relativity through the 1919 solar eclipse expedition and developed influential philosophical ideas about the arrow of time and the nature of physical reality.

Core Contribution

The Arrow of Time: coined this phrase and identified entropy increase as the physical basis of temporal direction. The Nature of the Physical World: argued that physical science deals with structural knowledge only — the intrinsic nature of matter is unknown. The Eddington two-tables problem: the physical table is mostly empty space; the phenomenal table is solid.

Key Spikes & Highlights

The 1919 eclipse expedition to confirm light bending by gravity — organized under wartime restrictions as Eddington was a pacifist Quaker — was one of the most dramatic scientific events of the 20th century.
Was a devout Quaker and argued that his structural realism left room for spiritual experience — the intrinsic nature of the world, not captured by physics, might be mental or spiritual.

Notable Works & Achievements

Space, Time and Gravitation

The Mathematical Theory of Relativity

The Nature of the Physical World

Historical Influences

Albert Einstein Ernst Mach

Intellectual Lineage

British Physics Quaker Philosophy

Contemporaries & Peers

Albert Einstein Niels Bohr

Minds Influenced

Philosophy of Physics Time Studies

Intellectual Posterity

Arrow of Time Physics and Philosophy

Discussing