Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2026

Rejection of Fluorescence Background in Resonance and Spontaneous Raman Microspectroscopy
Published on: May 18, 2011
Pierre Duhem's rejection of special relativity
Miguel Agustín Aguilar Sandoval1
1Philosophy of Science, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico.
Abstract:
In this paper, I analyze Pierre Duhem's rejection of Albert Einstein's special relativity. Duhem published his most influential contributions to the philosophy of science during the same years that Einstein published the theory we now call special relativity. There are numerous coincidences in the conceptions of both authors about scientific methodology to the point that it has been stated that Einstein's philosophy is supported by Duhem's. It is surprising to discover that Duhem nevertheless rejected special relativity completely. Analyzing this rejection sheds light on aspects of Duhem's philosophy of science that have not been clearly recognized, namely how he conceived of the continuity between common sense concepts, scientific concepts, and measurement.
Related Concept Videos
The Uncertainty Principle
Principle of Equivalence
Space-Time Curvature and the General Theory of Relativity
This has been verified in many experiments. However, space and time are no longer absolute. Two observers moving relative to one another do not agree on the length of objects or the passage of time. The mechanics of objects based on Newton's laws of motion,...
Second Uniqueness Theorem
In contrast, consider that the electric field is non-unique and apply Gauss's law in divergence form in the region between the conductors and the integral form to the surface...
Thomson's e/m Experiment
A particle with charge q, speed v, and mass m enters an area from the top, where the magnetic and electric fields are perpendicular both to the particle's motion and to one another. The magnetic...
Perpendicular-Axis Theorem
Consider a circular disc of mass M and radius R lying along an x-y plane. The origin lies at the center of the disc, and the z-axis is perpendicular to the disc's plane. All three axes coincide at the disc's center. The moment of inertia of this...

