Hermann Weyl (1885-1955) was one of the twentieth century's most
important mathematicians, as well as a seminal figure in the development
of quantum physics and general relativity. He was also an eloquent
writer with a lifelong interest in the philosophical implications of the
startling new scientific developments with which he was so involved.
Mind and Nature is a collection of Weyl's most important general
writings on philosophy, mathematics, and physics, including pieces that
have never before been published in any language or translated into
English, or that have long been out of print. Complete with Peter
Pesic's introduction, notes, and bibliography, these writings reveal an
unjustly neglected dimension of a complex and fascinating thinker. In
addition, the book includes more than twenty photographs of Weyl and his
family and colleagues, many of which are previously unpublished.
Included here are Weyl's exposition of his important synthesis of
electromagnetism and gravitation, which Einstein at first hailed as "a
first-class stroke of genius"; two little-known letters by Weyl and
Einstein from 1922 that give their contrasting views on the
philosophical implications of modern physics; and an essay on time that
contains Weyl's argument that the past is never completed and the
present is not a point. Also included are two book-length series of
lectures, The Open World (1932) and Mind and Nature (1934), each a
masterly exposition of Weyl's views on a range of topics from modern
physics and mathematics. Finally, four retrospective essays from Weyl's
last decade give his final thoughts on the interrelations among
mathematics, philosophy, and physics, intertwined with reflections on
the course of his rich life.
