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After his failure to replace metaphysics by a linguistic approach,
Ludwig Boltzmann came to identify the philosophy of science with
methodology which, in turn, he considered to be part of science
itself, and thus not part of philosophy at all. His definition of
philosophy as metaphysics meant that, from his point of view, all
philosophers were metaphysicians, himself included. Boltzmann the
philosopher was advised on the improvement of his Weltanschauung by
Franz Brentano; to such effect that, by the summer of 1905,
Boltzmann appeared to be close to a form of critical realism.
However, the stronger this realism became, the more inconsistent it
seemed to be with his Mach plus pictures' methodology of science.
During this period, he planned to write a book, first on
metaphysics and then later on what he called A priori probability'
and what he considered to be its shortcomings. Apparently, the book
was never completed. All know Boltzmann the great physicist. Much
less widely known is that he was an original philosopher: one who
had a great impact on early 20th Century Viennese philosophy,
beginning with Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle and extending
even to Popper and Feyerabend. Blackmore's delving into Boltzmann's
correspondence, coupled with his unparalleled knowledge of
Boltzmann's final years, allows him to present Boltzmann in an
entirely new light to readers in the English language. For
physicists, philosophers and historians.
Ernst Mach -- A Deeper Look has been written to reveal to
English-speaking readers the recent revival of interest in Ernst
Mach in Europe and Japan. The book is a storehouse of new
information on Mach as a philosopher, historian, scientist and
person, containing a number of biographical and philosophical
manuscripts publihsed for the first time, along with correspondence
and other matters published for the first time in English. The book
also provides English translations of Mach's controversies with
leading physicists and psychologists, such as Max Planck and Carl
Stumpf, and offers basic evidence for resolving Mach's position on
atomism and Einstein's theory of relativity. Mach's scientific,
philosophical and personal influence in a number of countries --
Austria, Germany, Bohemia and Yugoslavia among them -- has been
carefully explored and many aspects detailed for the first time.
All of the articles are eminently readable, especially those
written by Mach's sister. They are deeply researched, new
interpretations abound, and the bibliography includes recent works
by and about Mach from over a dozen countries. The book also
contains many articles by or about Mach's contemporaries, including
Ostwald, Dingler, Weichert and, especially, Einstein. Finally, and
most intriguingly, the original ideas of Japanese scholars are
presented, built on Mach's philosophy. These demonstrate how Mach's
world view is currently contributing to the solution of
contemporary philosophical problems.
2 But already he had done important work on thermal equilibrium
which helped generalize Maxwell's distribution law. Indeed, there
is part of a letter by James Clerk Maxwell to Loschmidt from this
period which runs: "I am very pleased over the outstanding work of
your student; in England experi mental physics is much neglected.
Sir William Thomson has done the most in this connection, but you
in Austria] are ahead of us with your good example. "2 But while
praise was fine, Boltzmann lusted after further travel. He wanted
to know what other physicists were doing first hand. In 1870 he
attended lectures by Bunsen and Konigsberger in Heid elberg, and in
the same year went to Berlin only to scurry back to Vienna with the
outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, but Boltzmann was back in
Berlin the next year attending lectures, visiting laboratories, and
working on dielectricity more or less under the direction of
Kirchhhoff and Helmholtz."
Section Guide 1. Prolegomena 2. Biographical Sketch 3. Epistemology
4. Textbook Ontology 1. PROLEGOMENA While both philosophers and
historians almost always love truth and the search for truth, and
both often carry out extensive research, there can be noticeable
differences when historians write about the history of philosophy
and when philosophers write about it. Philosophers often look at
the past with categories and interests taken from the present or at
the least from the recent past, but many historians, especially
those who love research for its own sake, will try to look at the
past from a perspective either from that period or from even
earlier. Both camps look for roots, but view them with different
lenses and presupposi tions. This prolegomena has been added to
prepare some philosophers for what will hopefully only be the
mildest of shocks, for seeing the history of philosophy in a way
which does not treat what is recent or latest as best, but which
loves the context of ideas for its own sake, a context which can be
very foreign to contemporary likes and dislikes. To be sure, we
historians can deceive ourselves as easily as philosophers, but we
tend to do so about different things.
Ernst Mach -- A Deeper Look has been written to reveal to
English-speaking readers the recent revival of interest in Ernst
Mach in Europe and Japan. The book is a storehouse of new
information on Mach as a philosopher, historian, scientist and
person, containing a number of biographical and philosophical
manuscripts publihsed for the first time, along with correspondence
and other matters published for the first time in English. The book
also provides English translations of Mach's controversies with
leading physicists and psychologists, such as Max Planck and Carl
Stumpf, and offers basic evidence for resolving Mach's position on
atomism and Einstein's theory of relativity. Mach's scientific,
philosophical and personal influence in a number of countries --
Austria, Germany, Bohemia and Yugoslavia among them -- has been
carefully explored and many aspects detailed for the first time.
All of the articles are eminently readable, especially those
written by Mach's sister. They are deeply researched, new
interpretations abound, and the bibliography includes recent works
by and about Mach from over a dozen countries. The book also
contains many articles by or about Mach's contemporaries, including
Ostwald, Dingler, Weichert and, especially, Einstein. Finally, and
most intriguingly, the original ideas of Japanese scholars are
presented, built on Mach's philosophy. These demonstrate how Mach's
world view is currently contributing to the solution of
contemporary philosophical problems.
Section Guide 1. Prolegomena 2. Biographical Sketch 3. Epistemology
4. Textbook Ontology 1. PROLEGOMENA While both philosophers and
historians almost always love truth and the search for truth, and
both often carry out extensive research, there can be noticeable
differences when historians write about the history of philosophy
and when philosophers write about it. Philosophers often look at
the past with categories and interests taken from the present or at
the least from the recent past, but many historians, especially
those who love research for its own sake, will try to look at the
past from a perspective either from that period or from even
earlier. Both camps look for roots, but view them with different
lenses and presupposi tions. This prolegomena has been added to
prepare some philosophers for what will hopefully only be the
mildest of shocks, for seeing the history of philosophy in a way
which does not treat what is recent or latest as best, but which
loves the context of ideas for its own sake, a context which can be
very foreign to contemporary likes and dislikes. To be sure, we
historians can deceive ourselves as easily as philosophers, but we
tend to do so about different things.
After his failure to replace metaphysics by a linguistic approach,
Ludwig Boltzmann came to identify the philosophy of science with
methodology which, in turn, he considered to be part of science
itself, and thus not part of philosophy at all. His definition of
philosophy as metaphysics meant that, from his point of view, all
philosophers were metaphysicians, himself included. Boltzmann the
philosopher was advised on the improvement of his Weltanschauung by
Franz Brentano; to such effect that, by the summer of 1905,
Boltzmann appeared to be close to a form of critical realism.
However, the stronger this realism became, the more inconsistent it
seemed to be with his Mach plus pictures' methodology of science.
During this period, he planned to write a book, first on
metaphysics and then later on what he called A priori probability'
and what he considered to be its shortcomings. Apparently, the book
was never completed. All know Boltzmann the great physicist. Much
less widely known is that he was an original philosopher: one who
had a great impact on early 20th Century Viennese philosophy,
beginning with Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle and extending
even to Popper and Feyerabend. Blackmore's delving into Boltzmann's
correspondence, coupled with his unparalleled knowledge of
Boltzmann's final years, allows him to present Boltzmann in an
entirely new light to readers in the English language. For
physicists, philosophers and historians.
2 But already he had done important work on thermal equilibrium
which helped generalize Maxwell's distribution law. Indeed, there
is part of a letter by James Clerk Maxwell to Loschmidt from this
period which runs: "I am very pleased over the outstanding work of
your student; in England experi mental physics is much neglected.
Sir William Thomson has done the most in this connection, but you
in Austria] are ahead of us with your good example. "2 But while
praise was fine, Boltzmann lusted after further travel. He wanted
to know what other physicists were doing first hand. In 1870 he
attended lectures by Bunsen and Konigsberger in Heid elberg, and in
the same year went to Berlin only to scurry back to Vienna with the
outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, but Boltzmann was back in
Berlin the next year attending lectures, visiting laboratories, and
working on dielectricity more or less under the direction of
Kirchhhoff and Helmholtz."
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