What profession does Action at a distance and Albert Einstein have in common?
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist. Einstein developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). Einstein's work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. Einstein is best known by the general public for his mass–energy equivalence formula "E" = "mc" (which has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation"). He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", a pivotal step in the evolution of quantum theory.
Éric Weil Éric Weil (/veɪl/; French: [vɛjl]; 4 June 1904 - 1 February 1977) was a French-German philosopher noted for the development of a theory that places the effort to understand violence at the center of philosophy. Calling himself a post-Hegelian Kantian, Weil was a key figure in the 20th century reception of Hegel in France, as well as the renewed interest in Kant in that country that has continued to this day. The author of major original works, critical studies, and numerous essays in French his adopted language, as well as German and English, Weil was both an active academic as well as public intellectual. Involved in various fecund moments of French intellectual life, Weil was, for example, a participant in the famous lectures given by Alexandre Kojève on Hegel’s "Phenomenology of Spirit", and would go on to play an instrumental role at the journal "Critique" during its start and then serve as one of its editors for a number of years. An influential teacher, his students, such as Bourdieu, have noted Weil’s formative role in their intellectual development. This influence was also at the origin of the creation of the "Institut Éric Weil", a foundation and research library created by a group of his former students after his death.