Abstract

The epistemological thinking of Ernst Mach has roots in the transformations of the life sciences that took place in the 19th century. This fact was the starting point for analyzing his ideas about knowledge that were developed in several fundamental works, namely The Science of Mechanics and The Analysis of Sensations. In this study we intend to highlight the biological roots of Mach’s thinking, taking the routes he chose in his approaches to the themes “instinctive knowledge”, “biological origin of knowledge” and “economy of thought” and find in them some relevant aspects of his epistemology.