The philosophy of Ernst MACH

The philosophy of Ernst Mach he contributed to development of philosophy of science and epistemology, developing an empiricist, anti-metaphysical philosophy influenced by the phenomenology of Hume and Berkeley. One of his main contributions to philosophy is having established the bases of empiriocriticism.

Mach was an Austrian philosopher and physicist who is known mainly for his studies on the physics of fluids at supersonic speeds, his discovery being the so-called “Mach cone”, in addition to having established the call "Mach principle" about inertia.

In this lesson from unPROFESOR.com we delve into the philosophy of Ernst Mach, focusing on what were his main ideas and contributions to philosophy and science.

Ernst Mach He was an Austrian physicist and philosopher known for his important contributions to the fields of optics, mechanics, and wave dynamics., in addition to defending that scientific theories should be based only on the empirical observation and not on metaphysical speculation.

Mach, born on February 18, 1838 in Moravia, current Czech Republic, studied Physics and Mathematics in Vienna, becoming a professor of Mathematics in Graz. In 1867 he became experimental physics teacher at the Carolina University of Prague, where he carried out studies on kinesthesia, movement and acceleration.

Between 1873 and 1893 he developed optical and photographic techniques for the measurement of sound waves and their propagation. In 1895, Mach worked as inductive philosophy teacher at the University of Vienna. After suffering a stroke in 1897, he retired from active research, continuing his work as a lecturer and writing works such as “Knowledge and error” (1905), of notable influence on the first formulation of the Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.

The ideas of Ernst Mach's philosophy had a important impact on the philosophy of science and theoretical physics, being his crucial role in the transition from classical to modern physics. Among his main philosophical ideas we highlight:

• His thinking is closely related to a evolutionary and empiricist perspective, where science constitutes a useful tool to understand the world.
• Under the influence of positivism, Mach emphasized the importance of observation and experimentation as tools for acquiring knowledge.
• Mach considered that everything around us was “complexes of sensations”, denying the existence of an external world independent of human consciousness.
• He established a principle, the so-called “Mach principle” which established that the inertia of a body was determined by the distribution of matter in the universe, laying one of the foundations for the thought experiments that influenced the thinking of Einstein.
• Mach, together with Richard Avenarius, laid the foundations of empiriocriticism, a current that maintained that scientific experience must be completely stripped of metaphysical concepts since they distort knowledge.

Mach was a defender of positivism in the philosophy of science. He positivism It is a philosophical current that defends that scientific knowledge must be based on empirical observation and on experimentation, in addition to pointing out how scientific theories must be verifiable through experience.

For Mach No scientific principle could be established if it was not empirically verifiable.. Thus, this thinker rejected all metaphysics and religiosity, thus being one of the main representatives of the renewed positivism of the early 20th century.

His ideas had a great impact both within the field of philosophy and within theoretical physics. His influence was notable in the formation of the Vienna Circle, being represented there after his death by the Ernst Mach Association.

Discover here the Mach's contributions to positivism more completely.

He Mach principle It is one of the main contributions of this philosopher and physicist to science. This principle is a hypothesis about non-incertial forces and was first presented by him in 1893.

According to this principle, The inertia experienced by a body is determined by the distribution of matter in the universe. An idea that had a notable influence on Einstein, he being the one who called it “Mach's principle.”

Einstein incorporated this principle indirectly into his theories of relativity, thus playing an important role in the development of his thinking, especially in the thought experiments which led him to the theory of general relativity.