Grete Hermann - Between Physics and Philosophy

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. Hermann’s Background

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. A Biographical Sketch of Prof. Dr Grete Henry-Hermann (1901–1984)

      • Inge Hansen-Schaberg

      Pages 3-16

   3. Grete Hermann as a Philosopher

      • Fernando Leal

      Pages 17-34

   4. Understanding Hermann’s Philosophy of Nature

      • Giulia Paparo

      Pages 35-51

3. Hermann on Quantum Mechanics

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 53-53

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   2. The Convergence of Transcendental Philosophy and Quantum Physics: Grete Henry-Hermann’s 1935 Pioneering Proposal

      • Léna Soler

      Pages 55-69

   3. Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker’s ‘Ortsbestimmung eines Elektrons’ and its Influence on Grete Hermann

      • Thomas Filk

      Pages 71-83

   4. ‘In the No-Man’s-Land Between Physics and Logic’: On the Dialectical Role of the Microscope Experiment

      • Mélanie Frappier

      Pages 85-105

   5. Challenging the Gospel: Grete Hermann on von Neumann’s No-Hidden-Variables Proof

      • Michiel Seevinck

      Pages 107-117

   6. Grete Hermann’s Lost Manuscript on Quantum Mechanics

      • Elise Crull, Guido Bacciagaluppi

      Pages 119-134

   7. Bohr’s Slit and Hermann’s Microscope

      • Guido Bacciagaluppi

      Pages 135-147

   8. Hermann and the Relative Context of Observation

      • Elise Crull

      Pages 149-169

4. Discussions at the Hermann Workshop

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 171-171

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   2. Panel Discussion

      • Dieter Krohn, Rene Saran, Fernando Leal

      Pages 173-196

   3. General Discussion

      • Elise Crull, Guido Bacciagaluppi

      Pages 197-218

5. Translations

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 219-219

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   2. Letter from G. Heckmann to G. Hermann, 17 December 1933

      • Gustav Heckmann

      Pages 221-222

   3. Determinism and Quantum Mechanics

      • Grete Hermann

      Pages 223-237

   4. Natural-Philosophical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics

      • Grete Hermann

      Pages 239-278

Grete Hermann (1901-1984) was a pupil of mathematical physicist Emmy Noether, follower and co-worker of neo-Kantian philosopher Leonard Nelson, and an important intellectual figure in post-war German social democracy. She is best known for her work on the philosophy of modern physics in the 1930s, some of which emerged from intense discussions with Heisenberg and Weizsäcker in Leipzig. Hermann’s aim was to counter the threat to the Kantian notion of causality coming from quantum mechanics. She also discussed in depth the question of ‘hidden variables’ (including the first critique of von Neumann’s alleged impossibility proof) and provided an extensive analysis of Bohr’s notion of complementarity. This volume includes translations of Hermann’s two most important essays on this topic: one hitherto unpublished and one translated here into English for the first time. It also brings together recent scholarly contributions by historians and philosophers of science, physicists, and philosophers and educators following in Hermann’s steps. Hermann's work places her in the first rank among philosophers who wrote about modern physics in the first half of the last century. Those interested in the many fields to which she contributed will find here a comprehensive discussion of her philosophy of physics that places it in the context of her wider work.

• Causality in quantum mechanics
• Complementarity
• Grete Henry-Hermann
• Heisenberg microscope
• Jakob Friedrich Fries
• Leonard Nelson

• Department of Philosophy, The City University of New York, New York, USA

  Elise Crull

• Descartes Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities, Universiteit Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

  Guido Bacciagaluppi

Policies and ethics