Boris Hessen: Physics and Philosophy in the Soviet Union, 1927–1931

Chris Talbot has a Ph.D. in General Relativity. He lectured in mathematics at the University of Huddersfield, researching in Engineering Mathematics. Now retired, he has edited letters of David Bohm (David Bohm, Causality and Chance, Letters to Three Women, Springer, 2017 and David Bohm’s Critique of Modern Physics, Letters to Jeffrey Bub, 1966-1969, Springer, 2020). Studying Bohm’s work revived his interest in Marxism and the philosophy of physics and led to the translation of the largely forgotten work of Boris Hessen.Olga Pattison completed B.Sc. in Maths and M.A. in Finance, MITI (Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting since 1996). Between 1991 and 1999, Olga worked as an inhouse translator for Glencore UK Ltd. Duties included translation and interpreting at the World Economic Forum (Davos) in 1993 and 1994. She worked at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, for 16 years until retiring last year.

• 1. Introduction.- 2. The Fifth Congress of Russian Physicists.- 3. On Comrade Timiryazev’s Attitude to Modern Science.- 4. On the Bicentenary of Isaac Newton’s Death. Foreword to the Articles by A. Einstein and J.J. Thomson.- 5. Marian Smoluchowski (On the tenth anniversary of his death).- 6. Mechanical Materialism and Modern Physics (Section 1).- 7. Mechanical Materialism and Modern Physics (Section 2)