The time of philosophers does not exist...

The day Einstein (didn't) meet Bergson - Historical Fiction

By: Rafael Duarte Oliveira Venancio

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

On December 10, 1922, Albert Einstein received, after a year of deliberations by the Committee, the Nobel Prize in Physics for the previous year. However, to everyone's surprise, he did not receive it for his famous Theory of Relativity, but rather for his investigations into the photoelectric effect. The chairman of the Nobel Committee, Professor Arrhenius, was clear in his acceptance speech: “There is probably no living physicist whose name has become as widely known as that of Albert Einstein. Most of the discussion centers on his theory of relativity. This essentially concerns epistemology and has therefore been the subject of heated debate in philosophical circles. It is no secret that the famous Parisian philosopher Bergson contested this theory.”
Was that it? Because of a philosopher, Einstein would never have won the Nobel Prize for his most famous theory? And when did that happen?
Yes, we know the day and where it all happened. At the meeting of the French Philosophical Society on April 6, 1922. On that day, Einstein met Henri Bergson and uttered what is perhaps the most controversial phrase of his career: "The time of philosophers does not exist...".
This book imaginatively delves into the history of the events of April 6, 1922, the day the young physicist met the old philosopher. Both of Jewish origin, both concerned with the veils that enveloped the physical world, and, in fact, both built their careers on the notion of time.
So, let's open an imaginative window into what that day was like at the French Philosophical Society and understand what it was like on the day Einstein "didn't" meet Bergson. Furthermore, we will provide some information about important theories and theorists (Paul Langevin, Paul Painlevé, Élie Cartan, Léon Brunschvicg, Édouard Le Roy, Émile Meyerson, among others) in this debate, seeking to bring together in a narrative context both Alfred Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Quantum Physics, and Henri Bergson's Philosophy of Duration and Simultaneity.