{"title":"Drama around a Wartime Heisenberg Letter","authors":"Stephan Schwarz","doi":"10.1007/s00016-021-00285-1","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A recently published letter written by Werner Heisenberg in October 1943 has been interpreted as reporting on a sudden chasm in a close relationship between Heisenberg and Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker. The interpretation is interesting because (as will be argued) it is counterintuitive. There are alternatives; for example, it could be an afterthought following extended nightly small talk, not to be taken seriously. I argue, with reference to other sources, that the long-standing friendship was complex and incongruent in many ways, yet solid. It is unlikely that this relation should be vulnerable to destruction by a single irrational incident, that did not even touch on personal commitments. The incident seems rather to be an atypical expression of frustration, with little consequence. The letter can even be interpreted as a unique expression of its author’s resentment of phraseology with roots in Nazi rhetoric.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":727,"journal":{"name":"Physics in Perspective","volume":"24 1","pages":"72 - 92"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1000,"publicationDate":"2022-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00016-021-00285-1.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Physics in Perspective","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00016-021-00285-1","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
A recently published letter written by Werner Heisenberg in October 1943 has been interpreted as reporting on a sudden chasm in a close relationship between Heisenberg and Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker. The interpretation is interesting because (as will be argued) it is counterintuitive. There are alternatives; for example, it could be an afterthought following extended nightly small talk, not to be taken seriously. I argue, with reference to other sources, that the long-standing friendship was complex and incongruent in many ways, yet solid. It is unlikely that this relation should be vulnerable to destruction by a single irrational incident, that did not even touch on personal commitments. The incident seems rather to be an atypical expression of frustration, with little consequence. The letter can even be interpreted as a unique expression of its author’s resentment of phraseology with roots in Nazi rhetoric.
期刊介绍：
Physics in Perspective seeks to bridge the gulf between physicists and non-physicists through historical and philosophical studies that typically display the unpredictable as well as the cross-disciplinary interplay of observation, experiment, and theory that has occurred over extended periods of time in academic, governmental, and industrial settings and in allied disciplines such as astrophysics, chemical physics, and geophysics. The journal also publishes first-person accounts by physicists of significant contributions they have made, biographical articles, book reviews, and guided tours of historical sites in cities throughout the world. It strives to make all articles understandable to a broad spectrum of readers – scientists, teachers, students, and the public at large. Bibliographic Data Phys. Perspect. 1 volume per year, 4 issues per volume approx. 500 pages per volume Format: 15.5 x 23.5cm ISSN 1422-6944 (print) ISSN 1422-6960 (electronic)
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