^Index:
• The reality principle as strategy of knowledge - new translated
• Fundamentals of a Theory of Measurement
• HOMOMENSURA
• G. Galeczki, P. Marquardt: "EPPUR SI MUOVE" - Between Instrumentalism and Realism
• General Foundations of Mechanics  Long text
• The Meaning of Axioms
• Gravity and Inertia as Complementary Aspects - new translated
• An Upside-Down World. Two ways of thinking and four wrongnesses - new translated
• Einstein's Dilemma
• Does the Michelson Experiment call for a Relativistic Explanation?
• G. Galeczki: Special Relativity's Heel of Achilles: The Units of Measurement
• God's Big-Bang? - Comments on the Open Questions of Cosmology
• A Plea for Holistic Effects - publishers new location
• Gadamer and the Problem of Hermeneutics - new translated - supplement
• The Generation of Spirituality
• What is Life? The End of the Hen - Egg Problem?
• Download for all English Texts

The necessity of rationality

Popper demanded that scientist should be critical rationalists. But it is not enough to conjure up objective recognition, it also has to be stated how it is defined and by what means it is gained. Only the application of carefully clarified rational principles is giving the scientist the competence that is expected from him. Therefore the texts about physics and cosmology are mainly about these principles. Furthermore they are dealing with the clarification of terms and of the roll of the observer, who has always to be considered. For not only unexamined intuitive assumptions and unclear terms do create problems, but also an unadjusted thinking towards the object of scientific research. The cognitive problem of the physicists is to consider inanimated objects in the according categories. Men however has mainly learned during his history to think in categories of the living, with himself as pattern. Therefore he objects sun, moon and stars as 'resting' or 'moving' although they've got no according organs to give those expression a sense which could be explaining anything. It would be right to talk about a 'change of place' here, although the 'place' often only exists in the perspective of the observer which has to be considered, too. That's the only way to avoid pretended problems.
     To understand the physical object adequately, which means to cope with it, the physicist has finally to become aware of his instincts which are orientated towards the living and has to overcome them. He instinctively rejects, since he fears to loose his usual fitness in dealing with the world. Therefore he, if at all, only asks during critical situations half-heartedly for the foundations of his research. However those foundations are what my considerations here are about, since only those do convey a critical point of view.
_{translated by Peter Hille M.A.}

Hardcopies of the German homepage (last update: August 2002) are available under the title "Wege des Denkens" in the archives of the following libraries:
- 'Deutsche Bibliothek' in Frankfurt/M., (also compl. of CD-ROM)
- 'Bayerische Nationalbibliothek', Munich,*
- the Library of the 'Deutsches Museum', Munich*
and the library of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)
*also English texts till August 2002 in WEGE DES DENKENS. WAYS OF THINKING

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