Heidegger and Physics: space and Time

Hugo Ott reports on Heidegger's study in natural sciences and his pretentious claims with regard to philosophy, physics and relativity theory: most striking his Ott's confirmation that Heidegger sat no exams for these lectures.

I suggest that Heidegger had no grasp of either the relevant mathematics or the physics: when Heidegger states later in life that the theory of electromagnetic wave propagation is only understood by a handful of experts he repeats an old cliché about relativity theory: but he is talking about Maxwell, not Einstein and Planck, for his example for his listners is radio and television.  Even the most rudimentary knowledge of the actual history of late 19th Century science reveals the importance of Maxwell's simplifications and the hyptheses drawn from them which were confirmed as wireless telegraphs emerged as a technique (Maxwell of 1864 predates such relevant patent applications as those of 1872 and 1896.)

Heidegger seems to have believed that he would provide a correction to physics: whether he intended to correct Weyl or Einstein is not clear, for Heidegger was never a guest of von Neumann at Princetion.  When Heidegger gave lectures later in Munich, he lectured in the Fine Arts and not as a guest of mathematics or physics departments.

In stark contrast, Heidegger's opponent at Davos, polymath Ernst Cassirer, understood Special and General Relativity as well as did his contemporaries Russell and Whitehead.

Nowhere does Heidegger insist on the requirement to be based in science as emphasized by his interlocutor of the 1920's, Karl Jaspers.  It is very likely that Heidegger truly believed that Aristotle on motion had been left unscathed by Galileo, Kepler and Newton.

Heidegger certainly believed that his Zeit-raum was the philosphical alternative to Einstein Raum-zeit.

For another view, see Catherine Chevalley "Heidegger and the physical sciences"in "Martin Heidegger: critical assessments, Volume 1" edited by Christopher E. Macann