Gödel; From Relativity to IdealismThe Consistency between Einstein’s Relativity Theory and Kant’s Philosophy of Time

Abstract

Einstein’s theory of relativity made many difficulties for Newtonian physics, so as it did not remain any way for keeping it but setting apart or reforming some of the most fundamental concepts such as space and time. Many thinkers believe that relativity theory made some irreparable hurts on Kant’s philosophy. However, some other thinkers, like Gödel, have tried to read relativity theory in such a way that not only have no contradiction with Kant’s philosophy, but also introduce some affirmations for it. This paper casts light on Gödel’s effort for reconciling relativity theory with Kant’s philosophy in the topic of 'Time'; It also contains some remarks on the point that how conception of time in relativity theory can lead us to defend Idealism. Finally, it would be suggested that for reconciling Kant’s philosophy with modern science, we should both cease his inflexibility about the process of acquiring knowledge and set apart the hypothesis of being unknowable of the thing-in-itself.

Keywords

• time
• kant
• idealism
• theory of relativity
• modern physics