Abstract

Boltzmann's Bild-theory of knowledge served as the cornerstone for his understanding of the methodological and philosophical foundations of theoretical physics. Its basic principle was that all our ideas and theories of objective physical reality are nothing other than subjective mental Bilder, or visualizable images, which indirectly and incompletely represent observable phenomena. In the past, scholars have explained and interpreted Boltzmann's representation theory of knowledge as an outgrowth of Heinrich Hertz's and Ernst Mach's epistemologies. In this regard, they have believed that Boltzmann formulated his philosophical views as a middle-aged man during the late 1880s and early 1890s. ;The purpose of this dissertation is to show that the epistemological foundations of Boltzmann's understanding of the nature and purpose of theoretical physics were established much earlier than previously believed, namely, during the years of his formal philosophical education at the Linz Gymnasium and the University of Vienna. Of especial importance is Boltzmann's study of Robert Zimmermann and Johann Herbart's epistemology and metaphysics of mental representation, which emphasized that all human knowledge of objective reality consists of subjective mental Bilder of the physical world. ;In the dissertation I have also attempted to show how two other dimensions of Boltzmann's education fundamentally shaped his mature philosophical views. The first is the tremendous influence of Friedrich Schiller's aesthetics on Boltzmann's understanding of the ultimate nature and purpose of physical theories. The second is the lasting impact of James Clerk Maxwell's scientific epistemology and methodology on his understanding of the foundations of theoretical physics. ;The main conclusion of the dissertation is that, when considered in light of the details of his philosophical education, the beliefs expressed by Boltzmann throughout the 1890s were ones that had been fundamental to his understanding and practice of theoretical physics from the earliest times of his studies