I examine some aspects of Mach’s concern for photographs and phonographs. I start with the phonographs, and I examine in particular Mach’s reference to this device in his account of the development of written language. My second point is a comparison between Mach's reference to phonographs and hieroglyphs and some very similar insights in Wittgenstein’s Tractatus. Lastly, I address some aspects of Mach’s interest in photographical techniques, and I try to draw a parallel between Mach’s conception of mental economical pictures (...) and the method of composite portraiture developed by Galton. (shrink)

The connections between Wittgenstein’s philosophy and the pragmatist tradition are often alluded to, but seldom thoroughly explored. It is commonly assumed that Wittgenstein was scarcely acquainted with such authors as Charles Sanders Peirce or John Dewey, even though he had a rather extended knowledge of the philosophy of William James. Nevertheless, the converging features between Wittgenstein and pragmatism are quite striking: we shall hardly need to mention...

La seconde moitié du xxe siècle a vu prospérer toute une génération de « physiciens-philosophes ». Ces penseurs, tout en produisant des travaux intenses et innovants en matière de physique ou de mécanique, ne manquaient pas d’associer à ces recherches une démarche réflexive interrogeant la portée des découvertes opérées par les sciences de la nature, la signification de l’histoire de la physique, voire la nature de la connaissance en général. Ernst Mach est à cet égard particulièr...