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Birth
Ernst Mach was born in Brno Moravia. A local and reported favorite dish of Mach’s was chicken pie. Mach was an Austrian physicist and philosopher. -
Early Work
He led the study of wave dynamics and supersonic speeds, which the numeric system was named after him. Some have called him a founder of the philosophy of science, a significant influence for logical positivists, and a phenomenalist. During his youth he discovered philosophy through the work of Kant. -
College
When Mach was enrolled as a student at the University of Vienna. While His main course of study was physics, he also learned philosophy and mathematics. -
Thesis
His thesis “On electrical charge and induction”, was written in 1860 when he received his doctorate in physics. -
Philosophy Instructor
The University of Vienna offered a teaching position to Mach in 1895. He accepted and became the professor of inductive philosophy. -
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New studies in philosophy
During his time at the University of Vienna, Mach developed new studies on philosophy. His views became especially important in the 19th and 20th centuries. Mach believed that all knowledge is formulated in the brain and not received. -
Ideals
He became well known for phenomenalism because he philosophized that only sensations were real. Mach held the stance that no statements are acceptable if they aren’t empirically verifiable. He was so strict with his criteria of verifiability that he dismissed concepts like time and he eventually became an inspiration to the work of Einstein. -
End of career at University
Mach retired from the University in 1901. He continued to publish works and 1903 was the year that “Space and Geometry: In the Light of Physiological, Psychological and Physical Inquiry” was written. -
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Later Ideals
Mach thought scientific laws were just summaries of experiments. He was once unwilling to recognize atoms and was even criticized of his view point because of his work in physics. He later focused on math being a way to that one could relate sensory experiences. In 1905 he published “Knowledge and Error”. In 1910 he published his autobiography. -
Death
"Ideas that mirror facts are not all of equal constancy. Always where we have a special interest in the imaging of facts, there will be an effort to support or strengthen the ideas of lesser constancy by those of greater constancy, or to substitute the latter for the former." -Ernst Mach.
