Russell on Weyl's unified field theory

TL;DR

This paper revisits Bertrand Russell's 1927 critique of Weyl's 1918 unified field theory, highlighting its historical significance and philosophical insights into early attempts at unifying gravity and electromagnetism.

Contribution

It provides a historical and philosophical analysis of Russell's critique, emphasizing its influence on the conceptual development of unified field theories.

Findings

Russell's critique offered early philosophical insights into Weyl's theory.

The paper highlights the historical importance of Weyl's ideas in physics.

It underscores the influence of Russell's analysis on subsequent scientific philosophy.

Abstract

In 1918, H. Weyl proposed a unified theory of gravity and electromagnetism based on a generalization of Riemannian geometry. With hindsight we now could say that the theory carried with it some of the most original ideas that inspired the physics of the twentieth century. In a book published in 1927, Bertrand Russell devoted an entire chapter to explain and give a critical appraisal of Weyl's theory. We briefly revisit the text written by Russell, who gave one of the first philosophical approaches to Weyl's ideas.