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An exposition of an alternative rendering of the theory of relativity, this volume is the work of the distinguished English mathematician and philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead. Suitable for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students, its three-part treatment begins with an overview of general principles that may be described as mainly philosophical in character. Part II is devoted to physical applications and chiefly concerns the particular results deducible from the formulas assumed for the gravitation and electromagnetic fields. The final part consists of an exposition of the elementary theory of tensors.The author notes that the text's order proceeds naturally from general principles to particular applications, concluding with a general exposition of the mathematical theory, special examples of which have occurred in the discussion of the applications. Physicists,Whitehead suggests, may prefer to start with Part II, referring back to a few formulas mentioned at the end of Part I, and mathematicians may start with Part III. The whole evidence, he adds, requires a consideration of all three parts.

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"One of the most valuable books on the relation of philosophy and science which has appeared for many years." — The Cambridge Review"A great contribution to Natur-philosophie, far the finest contribution . . . made by any one man. — MindIn addition to his brilliant achievements in theoretical mathematics, Alfred North Whitehead exercised an extensive knowledge of philosophy and literature that informs and elevates all of his works. This book represents one of his most significant achievements in the field of natural philosophy. The Concept of Nature originated with Whitehead's Tarner Lectures, and it offers undergraduate students and other readers an absorbing exploration of the fundamental problems of substance, space, and time.Whitehead's discussions are highlighted by a criticism of Einstein's method of interpreting results, and by his alternative development of the celebrated theory of the four-dimensional space-time manifold.

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