Max Bernhard Weinstein (1 September 1852 in
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
,
Vilna Governorate – 25 March 1918) was a German
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
and
philosopher
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
. He is best known as an opponent of
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
's
Theory of Relativity
The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical ph ...
, and for having written a broad examination of various theological theories, including extensive discussion of
pandeism
Pandeism, or pan-deism, is a theological doctrine that combines aspects of pantheism with aspects of deism. Unlike classical deism, which holds that the creator deity does not interfere with the universe after its creation, pandeism holds tha ...
.
Born into a Jewish family in Kovno (then
Imperial Russia
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* ...
[''The Symbolic Universe: Geometry and Physics 1890-1930'', page 104, by Jeremy Gray. 1999.]), Weinstein translated
James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism an ...
's ''Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism'' into
German in 1883,
[''The Historical Development of Quantum Theory'', page 33, by Jagdish Mehra and Helmut Rechenberg, 2000.] and taught courses on
electrodynamics
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interacti ...
at the University of Berlin.
While teaching at the Institute of Physics in the University of Berlin, Weinstein associated with
Max Planck
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (; ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quantum, quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.
Planck made many substantial con ...
,
Emil du Bois-Reymond,
Hermann von Helmholtz
Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (; ; 31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894; "von" since 1883) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The ...
,
Ernst Pringsheim Sr.,
Wilhelm Wien,
Carl A. Paalzow of the Technische Hochschule in Berlin Charlottenburg,
August Kundt
August Adolf Eduard Eberhard Kundt (; 18 November 1839 – 21 May 1894) was a German physicist known for developing Kundt's tube, an appartus used to measure the speed of sound in gases and solids.
Early life
Kundt was born in Schwerin, Meckle ...
,
Werner von Siemens
Ernst Werner Siemens ( von Siemens from 1888; ; ; 13 December 1816 – 6 December 1892) was a German electrical engineer, inventor and industrialist. Siemens's name has been adopted as the SI unit of electrical conductance, the siemens. He ...
, theologian
Adolph von Siemens, historian
Theodor Mommsen
Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; ; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th ce ...
, and Germanic philologist
Wilhelm Scherer.
Criticism of Einstein's theory of relativity
Weinstein was among the first physicists to reject and criticize
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
's
theory of relativity
The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical ph ...
, contending that "general relativity had removed gravity from its earlier isolated position and made it into a "world power" controlling all laws of nature," and warning that "physics and mathematics would have to be revised."
[''Einstein's Jury: The Race to Test Relativity'', page 102, by Jeffrey Crelinsten. 2006.] It was Weinstein's writings, and their impact driving public sentiment against Einstein's theories, which led astronomer
Wilhelm Foerster to convince Einstein to write a more accessible explanation of those ideas.
But, one commentator contends that Weinstein's summaries of relativistic physics were "tedious exercises in algebra."
Weinstein argued against relativity in his book ''Die Physik der bewegten Materie und die Relativitätstheorie'', published in 1913.
Philosophical writings
In addition to his work in physics, Weinstein wrote several philosophical works.
Welt- und Lebensanschauungen, Hervorgegangen aus Religion, Philosophie und Naturerkenntnis' ("World and Life Views, Emerging From Religion, Philosophy and Perception of Nature") (1910) examined the origins and development of a great many philosophical areas, including the broadest and most far-reaching examination of the theological theory of
pandeism
Pandeism, or pan-deism, is a theological doctrine that combines aspects of pantheism with aspects of deism. Unlike classical deism, which holds that the creator deity does not interfere with the universe after its creation, pandeism holds tha ...
written up to that point. A critique reviewing Weinstein's work in this field deemed the term pandeism to be an 'unsightly' combination of Greek and Latin,
[ Otto Kirn, reviewer, ''Welt- und Lebensanschauungen, Hervorgegangen aus Religion, Philosophie und Naturerkenntnis'' ("World and Life Views, Emerging From Religion, Philosophy and Nature") in Emil Schürer, ]Adolf von Harnack
Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credited ...
, editors, ''Theologische Literaturzeitung'' ("Theological Literature Journal"), Volume 35, column 827 (1910): "Dem Verfasser hat anscheinend die Einteilung: religiöse, rationale und naturwissenschaftlich fundierte Weltanschauungen vorgeschwebt; er hat sie dann aber seinem Material gegenüber schwer durchführbar gefunden und durch die mitgeteilte ersetzt, die das Prinzip der Einteilung nur noch dunkel durchschimmern läßt. Damit hängt wohl auch das vom Verfasser gebildete unschöne griechisch-lateinische Mischwort des ,Pandeismus' zusammen. Nach S. 228 versteht er darunter im Unterschied von dem mehr metaphysisch gearteten Pantheismus einen ,gesteigerten und vereinheitlichten Animismus', also eine populäre Art religiöser Weltdeutung. Prhagt man lieh dies ein, so erstaunt man über die weite Ausdehnung, die dem Begriff in der Folge gegeben wird. Nach S. 284 ist Scotus Erigena ein ganzer, nach S. 300 Anselm von Canterbury ein ,halber Pandeist'; aber auch bei Nikolaus Cusanus und Giordano Bruno, ja selbst bei Mendelssohn und Lessing wird eine Art von Pandeismus gefunden (S. 306. 321. 346.)." ''Translation'': "The author apparently intended to divide up religious, rational and scientifically based philosophies, but found his material overwhelming, resulting in an effort that can shine through the principle of classification only darkly. This probably is also the source of the unsightly Greek-Latin compound word, 'Pandeism.' At page 228, he understands the difference from the more metaphysical kind of pantheism, an enhanced unified animism that is a popular religious worldview. In remembering this borrowing, we were struck by the vast expanse given the term. According to page 284, Scotus Erigena is one entirely, at p. 300 Anselm of Canterbury is 'half Pandeist'; but also Nicholas of Cusa and Giordano Bruno, and even in Mendelssohn and Lessing a kind of Pandeism is found (p. 306 321 346.)". though Weinstein did not coin the term, nor did he claim to have. The reviewer further criticises Weinstein's broad assertions that such historical philosophers as
Scotus Erigena,
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also known as (, ) after his birthplace and () after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Canterb ...
,
Nicholas of Cusa
Nicholas of Cusa (1401 – 11 August 1464), also referred to as Nicholas of Kues and Nicolaus Cusanus (), was a German Catholic bishop and polymath active as a philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and astronomer. One of the first Ger ...
,
Giordano Bruno
Giordano Bruno ( , ; ; born Filippo Bruno; January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, poet, alchemist, astrologer, cosmological theorist, and esotericist. He is known for his cosmological theories, which concep ...
,
Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...
, and
Lessing all were pandeists or leaned towards pandeism.
Philosophically, Weinstein was attracted to what he called a psychical or spiritual
monism
Monism attributes oneness or singleness () to a concept, such as to existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished:
* Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., in Neoplatonis ...
, which he believed to be comparable to the
pantheism
Pantheism can refer to a number of philosophical and religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arisesAnn Thomson; Bodies ...
of
Spinoza
Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...
, and wherein the essence of all phenomena could be found entirely in the
mind
The mind is that which thinks, feels, perceives, imagines, remembers, and wills. It covers the totality of mental phenomena, including both conscious processes, through which an individual is aware of external and internal circumstances ...
.
[''Entropic Creation: Religious Contexts of Thermodynamics and Cosmology'', page 131-132, by Helge Kragh. 2008. .] Though he could see no way around the eventual
heat death of the Universe
The heat death of the universe (also known as the Big Chill or Big Freeze) is a scientific hypothesis regarding the ultimate fate of the universe which posits the universe will evolve to a state of no thermodynamic free energy and, having ...
, Weinstein suggested that there existed a fundamental 'psychical energy,' of which a maximum-entropy world would ultimately consist.
Weinstein wrote:
From this premise Weinstein reasoned that the world must have both a beginning and an end, and that a supernatural force must have initiated it, and so could bring about its end as well:
Though he rejected
theistic
Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of at least one deity. In common parlance, or when contrasted with '' deism'', the term often describes the philosophical conception of God that is found in classical theism—or the co ...
formulations regarding such things, Weinstein found the origin of the Universe to be so problematic that he wrote: "As far as I can see, only
Spinozist pantheism
Pantheism can refer to a number of philosophical and religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arisesAnn Thomson; Bodies ...
, among all philosophies, can lead to a satisfactory solution."
Works
* ''Handbuch der physikalischen Maassbestimmungen. Zweiter Band. Einheiten und Dimensionen, Messungen für Längen, Massen, Volumina und Dichtigkeiten'', Julius Springer, Berlin 1888
* ''Die philosophischen Grundlagen der Wissenschaften. Vorlesungen gehalten an der Universität Berlin …'', B. G. Teubner, Leipzig und Berlin 1906
* ''Welt- und Lebensanschauungen hervorgegangen aus Religion, Philosophie und Naturerkenntnis'', Johann Ambrosius Barth, Leipzig 1910
* ''Die Physik der bewegten Materie und die Relativitätstheorie'', Barth, Leipzig 1913
* ''Kräfte und Spannungen. Das Gravitations- und Strahlenfeld'', Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig 1914
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinstein, Max Bernhard
1852 births
1918 deaths
19th-century German non-fiction writers
19th-century German philosophers
19th-century German physicists
20th-century German non-fiction writers
20th-century German philosophers
20th-century German physicists
German Jews
German male non-fiction writers
German male writers
German physicists
Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin
Jewish philosophers
Jewish German physicists
Lithuanian Jews
Pantheists
German philosophers of religion
German philosophers of science
German philosophy writers
Relativity critics