WHITEHEAD’S ENQUIRY 4th CHAPTER TRANSLATED TO PORTUGUESE: CONGRUENCE

Abstract

This paper presents a pioneering first translation into Portuguese of chapter 4 “Congruence”. This chapter appear in the part 1 “The Traditions of Science”, which integrates the book “An Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Natural Knowledge” - book written by the mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead (1861 to 1947) in the second decade of the 20th century and published by the Cambridge University Publisher in 1919 (currently in public domain). The justification for this translation is given by the relevance of the original work, the book that most broadly approaches the Philosophy of Physics and most deeply presents the author's understanding of Physics in its first broad philosophical phase. In the chapter translated here, specifically, Whitehead presents a critical reflection on the concept of simultaneity in Einstein's Physics, a discussion about the congruence of events and, in conclusion, presents the place of recognition in the production of scientific knowledge. The source for the original text, used during this translation work, was the version available online, for free use, by the University of California Library.