Beitrag zur Beurteilung der Lehren Machs : Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde

A careful early‑twentieth‑century dissertation tackles the legacy of Ernst Mach’s teachings, asking how a modern natural scientist should relate to long‑standing philosophical questions about substance, causality and the very notion of explanation. The author opens by contrasting the older view of philosophy as a source of world‑pictures with a newer ambition to align philosophical analysis with the precise laws uncovered by physics. Readers are invited into a scholarly debate that still feels lively, as the work sets the stage for a re‑examination of what it means for science to “explain” anything at all.

The first part presents a series of bold claims: that natural science merely records events rather than uncovers causes, that causal relations have become obsolete, and that traditional substance concepts dissolve when reduced to functional descriptions. By treating scientific laws as practical tools rather than ultimate truths, the dissertation proposes a pragmatic worldview in which theory serves to navigate reality efficiently. Listeners will appreciate the historical context and the rigorous argumentation that marks this pivotal moment in the philosophy of science.