On the Method of Theoretical Physics
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1933
- Form
- Essay
- Language
- German
- Length
- Short · 10 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendIdeas and OpinionsCrown, 1995The standard collection of Einstein's non-technical writings, where the lecture is most easily found.
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The Herbert Spencer Lecture Einstein delivered at Oxford in June 1933, a few months after leaving Germany for good. In a dozen pages he argues that the concepts and laws of physics are free inventions of the human mind, not derived from experience by logic, though experience alone judges them. He credits Euclid and Galileo, defends the search for the mathematically simplest theory, and closes with his hopes and doubts about the new quantum mechanics and a unified field theory.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns On the Method of Theoretical Physics are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
