Interpreting Mach Critical Essays

This volume presents new essays on the work and thought of physicist, psychologist, and philosopher Ernst Mach. Moving away from previous estimations of Mach as a pre-logical positivist, the essays reflect his rehabilitation as a thinker of direct relevance to debates in the contemporary philosophies of natural science, psychology, metaphysics, and mind. Topics covered include Mach's work on acoustical psychophysics and physics; his ideas on analogy and the principle of conservation of energy; the correct interpretation of his scheme of 'elements' and its relationship to his 'historical-critical' method; the relationship of his thought to movements such as American pragmatism, realism, and neutral monism, as well as to contemporary figures such as Friedrich Nietzsche; and the reception and influence of his works in Germany and Austria, particularly by the Vienna Circle.

Introduction: A New Mach for a New Millennium John Preston; 1. Ernst Mach's Piano and the Making of a Psychophysical Imaginarium Alexandra Hui; 2. Mother's Milk, and More: On the Role of Ernst Mach's Relational Physics in the Development of Einstein's Theory of Relativity Richard Staley; 3. Meaningful Work: Ernst Mach on Energy Conservation Daan Wegener; 4. Mach on Analogy in Science S. G. Sterrett; 5. Ernst Mach's Enlightenment Pragmatism: History and Economy in Scientific Cognition Thomas Uebel; 6. On the Philosophical and Scientific Relationship between Ernst Mach and William James Alexander Klein; 7. Ernst Mach and Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Prejudices of Scientists Pietro Gori; 8. Abstraction, Pragmatism, and History in Mach's Economy of Science Lydia Patton; 9. Holding the Hand of History: Mach on the History of Science, the Analysis of Sensations, and the Economy of Thought Luca Guzzardi; 10. Ernst Mach and the Vienna Circle: A Re-evaluation of the Reception and Influence of his Work Friedrich Stadler; 11. Narratives Divided: The Austrian and the German Mach Michael Stöltzner; 12. Phenomenalism, or Neutral Monism, in Mach's Analysis of Sensations? John Preston; 13. The Case for Mach's Neutral Monism Erik C. Banks.

John Preston is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Reading. He is the author of Feyerabend: Philosophy, Science and Society (1997) and Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: A Reader's Guide (2008). He edited the third volume of Feyerabend's Philosophical Papers and co-edited The Worst Enemy of Science?: Essays in Memory of Paul Feyerabend (with Gonzalo Munévar and David Lamb, 2000).