Relativity as a Symbolic Form. Cassirer as an Interpreter of Einstein
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54103/2039-9251/32271Keywords:
Neo-Kantianism, Time, Relativity, Cassirer, EinsteinAbstract
This article reconstructs Cassirer’s interpretation of the theory of relativity, showing how it constitutes a moment of transition from neo-Kantian critical philosophy to the philosophy of symbolic forms. In his engagement with Einstein, Cassirer does not merely register an internal transformation within modern physics; rather, he interrogates relativity in order to rethink the conditions for the constitution of objective experience. After situating this reading within the context of the Marburg School and the transition from the concept of substance to the concept of function, the article analyses Cassirer’s 1920–1921 lectures, in which relativity is taken both as a model for the formation of scientific concepts and as a field for the critical redefinition of the relationship between philosophy and science. Particular attention is then devoted to the status of space and time: far from dissolving objectivity, Einstein’s theory enables Cassirer to reformulate it in relational terms, as an order of coordination rather than as a substantial foundation. Ultimately, the article presents Cassirer’s reading of relativity as a symbolic reorganisation of scientific experience, in which the Kantian transcendental is not refuted, but reinterpreted in historical, functional, and non-substantialist terms
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