Ernst Mach Quotes

A collection of quotes by Ernst Mach.

Ernst Mach (1838-1916) was an influential Austrian physicist and philosopher. Born in Brno, Moravia (now in the Czech Republic), he made significant contributions to the fields of optics, mechanics, and experimental psychology. Mach's work on the Doppler effect, shock waves, and his critique of Newtonian mechanics greatly influenced the development of Einstein's theory of relativity. In his philosophical writings, especially his book "The Science of Mechanics," Mach emphasized the importance of empirical observations and conceptual integration in scientific inquiry. His ideas had a profound impact on the philosophy of science in the 20th century.

Physics is experience, arranged in economical order.

Physics is experience, arranged in economical order.

The biological task of science is to provide the fully devel

The biological task of science is to provide the fully developed human individual with as perfect a means of orientating himself as possible. No other scientific ideal can be realised, and any other must be meaningless.

Science

Science always has its origin in the adaptation of thought t

Science always has its origin in the adaptation of thought to some definite field of experience.

Experience Science

The plain man is familiar with blindness and deafness, and k

The plain man is familiar with blindness and deafness, and knows from his everyday experience that the look of things is influenced by his senses but it never occurs to him to regard the whole world as the creation of his senses.

Experience

We can see the Divine in each speck of dust, but that doesn'

We can see the Divine in each speck of dust, but that doesn't stop us from wiping it away with a wet sponge. The Divine doesn't disappear; it's transformed into the clean surface.

Without renouncing the support of physics, it is possible fo

Without renouncing the support of physics, it is possible for the physiology of the senses, not only to pursue its own course of development, but also to afford to physical science itself powerful assistance.

Science

The presentations and conceptions of the average man of the

The presentations and conceptions of the average man of the world are formed and dominated, not by the full and pure desire for knowledge as an end in itself, but by the struggle to adapt himself favourably to the conditions of life.

Knowledge