Abstract.
The physicist Franz Serafin Exner (1849–1926) was a prominent Austrian spokesman for the new developments that were coupled with turn-of-the-century experiments and theories related to entropy thermodynamics, the internally structured atom, quantum theory, and relativity. The Exner circle found its inspiration in the intellectual world of Ludwig Boltzmann and his teachers, colleagues, and students. Cross-discipline discussions on common and divergent frontiers of the exact sciences and the humanities meaningfully converged on the significance, comparison, and transfer of concepts such as the laws of nature, causality, probability, and chance. Oswald Spengler's Decline of the West, with its pessimistic, subjectivistic, and negative science-directed messages provided Exner with the opportunity to sharpen his support for the new scientific trends in physics – thus to champion the search for objective truth.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hiebert, E. Common Frontiers of the Exact Sciences and the Humanities. Phys. perspect. 2, 6–29 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s000160050034
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s000160050034
- Key words. Mechanics; reduction; chance; probability; exact sciences; the humanities; laws of nature; causality; atom; truth; Hermann Helmholtz; William S. Jevons; Franz S. Exner; Oswald Spengler.