Description
Cassidy (natural science, Hofstra U.) traces the impact on society of the views and theories of physicist, essayist, and man of moral principles Albert Einstein (1879-1955). He looks at the scientific and cultural climate and his upbringing at the turn of the 20th century, the impact on physics of relativity and the quantum, relativity and the public, cultural resonances, and science and conscience. No date is noted for the first edition. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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This is a fascinating account of the impact of Einstein’s work and outlook upon contemporary culture and upon the scientific enterprise itself.Following a brief, nontechnical explanation of the significance of Einstein’s achievements, Prof. Cassidy takes the reader on an intriguing journey through the uses and abuses of Einstein’s relativity theory in such widely diverse settings as political ideology, philosophy of science, literature, art, religion, and the individual in an age of dictatorship, genocide, and weapons of mass destruction. Cassidy explores how Einstein’s work spread throughout the physical sciences, leading to a new conception of the theoretical physicist as both physicist and cultural figure. While public fascination with Einstein’s achievements grew, his authority as an influential spokesman for human dignity, intellectual freedom, and world peace continued to the end of his life.This new edition, besides updating and revising the content of the first edition, includes a number of important new topics that could not be included in the original edition: more on Einstein’s personal life in the light of recent revelations; a new section on Einstein and peace; and an assessment of Einstein’s continuing influence in the post-September 11 era.
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