Space and Geometry in the Light of Physiological, Psychological and Physical Inquiry

by Ernst Mach, Thomas J. McCormack (Translator)

The Austrian scientist Ernst Mach (1838 1916) carried out work of importance in many fields of enquiry, including physics, physiology, psychology and philosophy. Published in this English translation of 1906, these essays examine geometry from three different perspectives. Mach argues that, as our ideas about space are created by the senses and how we experience our environment, researchers must not consider the subject from a mathematical standpoint alone. In the first essay, he explains how humans generate spatial concepts. Next, he discusses the psychology of geometry, its empirical origins, and its development. In the final piece, he writes from the viewpoint of a physicist, outlining how various mathematicians, such as Carl Friedrich Gauss and Bernhard Riemann, have contributed to our geometrical understanding. Also reissued in this series in English translation are Mach's The Science of Mechanics (1893) and Popular Scientific Lectures (1895)."

Genres: Science, Physics, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Mathematics

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Ernst Mach was an Austrian physicist and philosopher and is the namesake for the "Mach number" (also known as Mach speed) and the optical illusion known as Mach bands.

Reviews

[Michal Paszkiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, although a bit dated wrt the discussion of the senses. I was reading this primarily to look for evidence of Mach's principle, and yes, I found a few statements unmentioned in wiki where Mach tries to assert a relativity of all Geometry... I guess it might not be referring to rotation, but it can easily be seen as a book that may have been planting the seeds in Einstein's head.