"Thing, body, matter, are nothing apart from the combinations of the elements, - the colours, sounds, and so forth - nothing apart from their so-called attributes"

Ernst Mach, a popular physicist and philosopher, was deeply associated with the philosophical study of understanding and the nature of matter, and the quote you referenced reflects his empirical and phenomenological method to comprehending reality. To interpret this quote from Mach, it is vital to recognize his viewpoints on the relationship between understanding and the real world.

Mach recommends that what we typically describe as "things", "bodies", or "matter" do not possess an independent presence apart from the sensory qualities through which they are viewed, such as colors and sounds. To put it simply, objects are not naturally constituted by these qualities; rather, these qualities belong to the perceptual experience that occurs from the interaction of numerous sensory elements. According to Mach, these attributes are not just residential or commercial properties of the objects but intrinsic to how we experience and conceive items entirely.

In this view, items are basically constructs based upon sensory impressions that are organized together. These sensory experiences, made up by aspects like colors and sounds, therefore form the basis of what we understand as matter. Mach's position challenges the traditional notion of objects having a presence completely independent of understanding. Instead, he stresses that our understanding of physical entities is greatly reliant on our sensory experiences.

By proposing that objects have no reality apart from their characteristics or the combinations of sensory components, Mach advances a framework that underscores the subjectivity inherent in human perception. He leans toward a phenomenalist viewpoint, where reality is comprehended not as an assembly of independently existing entities but rather as a network of experiences moderated by perception.

This approach also aligns with Mach's more comprehensive epistemological position, which interest a kind of empirical minimalism. For Mach, the scientific understanding of reality is grounded in observable phenomena and the relations in between these phenomena, not in speculative or unobservable entities or essences. His philosophy encourages a reconsideration of the nature of truth, emphasizing the interdependence between observer and observed, which eventually contributes to the structures of the philosophical underpinnings of early 20th-century physics, especially influencing thinkers like Albert Einstein and the development of positivism.