British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 40 (4):519-540 (1989)
Abstract |
A study of the published and unpublished parts of Ernst Mach's last notebook (1910–14) suggests that Max Planck's attack (1908–11) provoked Mach into opposing ‘The Church of Physics’ more strongly than previously realized. Shortly after Mach threatened to leave the discipline if belief in atoms were required. Albert Einstein tried to persuade him to accept atomism (September 1910). Mach declined to mention Einstein again in his publications and increasingly criticized ‘The Church of Physics’. Evidence that Mach opposed relativity theory and the absence of evidence that he favored it is pointed out. It is suggested that Mach's alleged ‘friendly interest’ in Einstein's work in early 1914 may have been stimulated by the hope that the young genius might develop a continuum or field theory to refute Planck's discontinuity physics. The paper concludes with suggestions on how philosophers who defend Mach's non-realism such as Gereon Wolters and Paul Feyerabend might be better off switching to a realist epistemology more compatible with rationally-held science, religion, and common sense.
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DOI | 10.1093/bjps/40.4.519 |
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The Limits of Experience and Explanation: F. A. Lange and Ernst Mach on Things in Themselves.Scott Edgar - 2013 - British Journal for the History of Philosophy 21 (1):100-121.
Saving Mach’s View on Atoms.Manuel Bächtold - 2010 - Journal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 41 (1):1-19.
Saving Mach’s View on Atoms.Manuel Bächtold - 2010 - Journal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 41 (1):1 - 19.
On Mach on Time.Karim P. Y. Thébault - 2021 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 89:84-102.
The Theories Of Relativity And Einstein's Philosophical Turn.Makoto Katsumori - 1991 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 23 (4):557-592.
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