The Influence of Biology and Psychology upon Physics: Ernst Mach Revisited

摘要

Adaptationist accounts of our physiology and psychology form the basis of Machian physics. The newly matured sciences of physiology, psychology, and evolutionary theory suggested that space, time and matter are psychological phenomena as well as physical ones. Mach's critique of Newtonian space and time which inspired Einstein arose out of this tradition, and thus, in a limited yet important sense, bio-psychology influenced the course of twentieth century physics.