Einstein got it – philosophy and science do go hand in hand | Kenan Malik

Shame on those scientists who are unwilling to embrace the importance of philosophers

Last week it was revealed that Edinburgh University's David Purdie had discovered a letter from Albert Einstein in which the great scientist notes the importance of 18th-century Scottish philosopher David Hume in developing his theory of special relativity.

Without having reading Hume's A Treatise of Human Nature, Einstein wrote: "I cannot say that the solution would have come."