Einstein’s Relativity as an a Priori Theory from the Perspective of Kantian Philosophy
Bijan Berenji

Abstract
Several points made by Immanuel Kant in Critique of Pure Reason regarding a priori synthetic and a priori analytic theories relating to geometry and mathematics are discussed. These points are analyzed in regard to Einstein’s Theories of Special and General Relativity, with analysis of the nature of space and time in a Riemannian geometry. The points of view of Einstein’s contemporaries Lorentz, Minkowski, and Reichenbach are discussed. Perspectives from modern philosophers including Frege and Wittgenstein are analyzed. The argument is made that although there are perhaps some reasons to classify relativity theory as synthetic a priori, relativity theory is an analytic a priori theory, due to its essential geometrical and mathematical character, and derivation based on intuition. Implications for theoretical physics and a theory of everything are discussed.

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