Einstein in the crossroad of the sciences, arts and humanities

TL;DR

This paper explores the transformative impact of Einstein's 1905 theory of relativity on Western thought, comparing it to a similar paradigm shift from the XV to XVII centuries, and discusses its implications across sciences, arts, and society.

Contribution

It analyzes the historical and cultural significance of Einstein's 1905 revolution in perception, linking it to broader intellectual shifts and societal choices.

Findings

Relativism introduced in 1905 changed perceptions in science and arts.

Historical parallels drawn between Einstein's revolution and the Renaissance period.

Implications for society: embracing uncertainty can lead to a fairer future.

Abstract

Western thinking underwent a turning point between 1885 and 1925. Einstein in 1905 symbolizes the emblematic hinge of this change of direction. To find an equivalent phenomenon in the past we need to go back to the period from the XV century to the XVII century. It was not a mere reform of codes but a new code. In 1905 the perception of reality changed through the introduction of relativism in three levels of the reference systems: the ego-other relation, the world perceived by the senses, and the 'ideal' universe of the concepts. We will try to identify how this change was expressed and developed in the cited levels, both in the physic and nature based sciences, in the social sciences, and in literature and fine arts. Today, 100 years after, the 1905's generation still proposes us two options: to live sheltered by the dogma that reassures us with its only and exclusive viewpoint claimed objective, or to dare to live with the multiple, the transient, the relative. The first way led to the worst regimes and intolerant ideas of the XX century, the second option throws us into the uncertainty of the creative adventure, but also leads us to the possibility of a fairer society in the XXI century.