College Seminar (101-7-20)

Topic

Einstein and Gödel: Philosophy, Physics, and Math

Instructors

Sean Ebels Duggan
847/491-2553
Kresge 3-443

Meeting Info

Kresge 3438 Philosophy Sem. Rm: Mon, Wed, Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

This course, designed for students with and without physics, mathematics, or philosophical background, is about discoveries in physics and logic, and how they affected, and were affected by, philosophy. It also will tell a story about a beautiful friendship, brilliant people doing selfish things, evil people doing terrible things, and tragic endings.

Albert Einstein's theories of relativity of 1905 and 1915 reshaped physics and how we thought about our knowledge of the world. Kurt Gödel's incompleteness theorems of 1931 did something similar to thinking about mathematics more generally. After Einstein and Gödel became friends in Princeton, Gödel provided solutions to Einstein's equations that show, at least theoretically, the possibility of a certain kind of time travel. Those are the discoveries and the friendship. We will examine all of these, and the selfish, terrible, and tragic parts, through engagement with history, philosophical and scientific texts, and even a little poetry. Along the way we'll reflect on what habits foster doing our best work (in a healthy way).

Learning Objectives

The College Seminar takes place in Fall quarter. College Seminars are small, discussion-oriented classes in which students explore a single topic or theme. Crucially, they also foreground the differences between high school and college and introduce students to skills such as time management and help-seeking that are necessary to thriving at Northwestern.

Evaluation Method

No final assessment

Class Materials (Required)

All class materials will be available at the library at NO cost to students.

A world without time : the forgotten legacy of Gödel and Einstein
Yourgrau, Palle.
New York : Basic Books; ©2005; 1st ed.
0465092934

Class Attributes

WCAS College Seminar

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: REASON: Pre-registration is not allowed for this class. Please try again during regular registration. Weinberg First Year Seminars are only available to first-year students.
Add Consent: Department Consent Required
Drop Consent: Department Consent Required