On Mach on time

Mach's views on the nature of time have been unduly neglected. They are both more defensible in their own historical context and more relevant to our own contemporary context than has been appreciated. This essay provides an extended and comprehensive discussion of Mach's writings on time...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inStudies in history and philosophy of science. Part A Vol. 89; pp. 84 - 102
Main Author Thébault, Karim P.Y.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2021
Elsevier Science Ltd
Subjects
19th century
Atomic clocks
Clocks
Context
History, 20th Century
Literature
Mach
Mach, Ernst (1838-1916)
Measuring instruments
Philosophy of science
Physics
Physics - history
Pulsars
Time
Mach
Time
Clocks
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Summary:Mach's views on the nature of time have been unduly neglected. They are both more defensible in their own historical context and more relevant to our own contemporary context than has been appreciated. This essay provides an extended and comprehensive discussion of Mach's writings on time offering novel analysis and interpretation. Contra the prevailing current in the secondary literature, Mach's views on time are shown to be largely vindicated in the context of late nineteenth century physics. Then, building upon this more historical project, we conclude with a critical evaluation of the modern Machian view of time due to Barbour within the context of relativistic chronometry as instantiated via pulsar clocks and atomic clocks. Once more, considered analysis serves to support the Machian view. About time we go back to Mach.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
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ISSN:0039-3681
1879-2510
DOI:10.1016/j.shpsa.2021.08.001