Recognition and Errors

Author: (Austria) Ernst Mach
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: "Scientific theory is a tentative and imperfect attempt; its results remain problematic and require correction or refinement through research and experience; any observation is influenced by theory..."；“Whether a scientist's ideas conform to a given philosophical system is entirely secondary, as long as they can serve as a starting point for research; do not seek salvation in fundamental doctrines, let alone the only doctrine.” This is Mach's scientific philosophy theory.
Ernst Mach (1838–1916) is a name that neither scientists nor philosophers would be unfamiliar with when it comes to this Austrian sage. Mach moved from science to the history of science and then to the philosophy of science, and his philosophical ideas were also derived and refined from science. This itself determines its originality and novelty. "Knowledge and Error" is the clearest, most focused, comprehensive, and mature exposition of Mach's theory of scientific cognition and methodology, and it is the innovative volume of Mach's scientific philosophy.
When it comes to the name of Ernst Mach (1838–1916), neither scientists nor philosophers would be unfamiliar with this Austrian sage. As a physicist, his experimental research on shock waves made him world-famous, and terms like the "Mach number" are named after him. Especially, his keen insights and pertinent critiques of classical mechanics were the herald of the coming revolution in physics, making him a precursor to relativity.
In the fields of physiology and psychology, his research revolved around the analysis of sensation. His specific contributions include: the change in pitch and color caused by motion, known as the Doppler effect; the function of the semicircular canals of the inner ear and motion perception; the interdependence of points on the retina and their influence on brightness perception; psychological research on space and time; explorations in psychological analysis; and the foresight of Gestalt psychology, psychoanalysis, and genetic epistemology.