Were the first thought experiments in Shakespeare's plays?
Prof. Fathali M. MoghaddamScientists have long used thought experiments to further their understanding of the world. But was Shakespeare the first person to do it?
Learn about this Garden Talk
Thought experiments help us to understand the world around us and make key breakthroughs. Their power was not lost on William Shakespeare.
Scientists such as Albert Einstein have used thought experiments to understand unobservable phenomena or explore hypothetical ideas such as the theory of special relativity. And to this day thought experiments continue to be core to progress in scientific research. But they’re also evident in the arts and literature, too – especially in the work of Britain’s foremost playwright.
In his Garden Talk, Dr Fathali Moghaddam shows how thought experiments were central to Shakespeare's plays and demonstrates that by employing techniques that are core to progress in scientific research and ideas, Shakespeare helped to bridge the gap between the sciences and the arts.
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Read this talk's transcriptTalk outline
50 minutes
30 minute talk
20 minute Member Q&A
Prof. Fathali M. Moghaddam is both a professor of Psychology at Georgetown University, and the editor-in-chief of Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology.
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Scientists have long used thought experiments to further their understanding of the world. But was Shakespeare the first person to do it?
