Einstein and the Theory of Relativity [1949]

Einstein is known to the general public for his theory of relativity, and I shall confine myself to this, as I am not competent to speak of what he has done in other fields. His theory of relativity appeared in two instalments, the special theory in 1905, and the general theory in 1915. Each was important both to science and to philosophy. The importance to science has been somewhat overshadowed by the still more revolutionary work on nuclear physics, most of which has been of later date; but the importance to philosophy remains supreme. I will speak first of the scientific aspects of Einstein’s work, and then of its bearing on the philosophy of space and time and matter.