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  1. Quantum physics and consciousness: a (strong) defense of panpsychism.Carlos Eduardo Maldonado - 2018 - Trans/Form/Ação 41 (s1):101-118.
    : Probably the crux of quantum science is the relationship between consciousness and reality. The name for that relation is varied, and points out to a most fundamental problem, namely the possibility to overcome dualism. In science and philosophy at large, determinism and reductionism have already been tackled, if not superseded. The trouble though remains with dualism. This paper argues in favor of a radical relationship between reality and consciousness based on quantum theory. Such a relation is panpsychism, which can (...)
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  • On the Necessity of Entanglement for the Explanation of Quantum Speedup.Michael Cuffaro - manuscript
    Of the many and varied applications of quantum information theory, perhaps the most fascinating is the sub-field of quantum computation. In this sub-field, computational algorithms are designed which utilise the resources available in quantum systems in order to compute solutions to computational problems with, in some cases, exponentially fewer resources than any known classical algorithm. While the fact of quantum computational speedup is almost beyond doubt, the source of quantum speedup is still a matter of debate. In this paper I (...)
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  • Reconstruction and Reinvention in Quantum Theory.Michael Dickson - 2015 - Foundations of Physics 45 (10):1330-1340.
    I consider the fact that there are a number of interesting ways to ‘reconstruct’ quantum theory, and suggest that, very broadly speaking, a form of ‘instrumentalism’ makes good sense of the situation. This view runs against some common wisdom, which dismisses instrumentalism as ‘cheap’. In contrast, I consider how an instrumentalist might think about the reconstruction theorems, and, having made a distinction between ‘reconstructing’ quantum theory and ‘reinventing’ quantum theory, I suggest that there is an adequate instrumentalist approach to the (...)
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  • A Quantum-Bayesian Route to Quantum-State Space.Christopher A. Fuchs & Rüdiger Schack - 2011 - Foundations of Physics 41 (3):345-356.
    In the quantum-Bayesian approach to quantum foundations, a quantum state is viewed as an expression of an agent’s personalist Bayesian degrees of belief, or probabilities, concerning the results of measurements. These probabilities obey the usual probability rules as required by Dutch-book coherence, but quantum mechanics imposes additional constraints upon them. In this paper, we explore the question of deriving the structure of quantum-state space from a set of assumptions in the spirit of quantum Bayesianism. The starting point is the representation (...)
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  • Formalism and Interpretation in Quantum Theory.Alexander Wilce - 2010 - Foundations of Physics 40 (4):434-462.
    Quantum Mechanics can be viewed as a linear dynamical theory having a familiar mathematical framework but a mysterious probabilistic interpretation, or as a probabilistic theory having a familiar interpretation but a mysterious formal framework. These points of view are usually taken to be somewhat in tension with one another. The first has generated a vast literature aiming at a “realistic” and “collapse-free” interpretation of quantum mechanics that will account for its statistical predictions. The second has generated an at least equally (...)
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  • (2 other versions)Wave Function Realism.Alyssa Ney - manuscript
    This is an introduction to wave function realism for a compendium on the philosophy of quantum mechanics that will be edited and translated into Portuguese by Raoni Arroyo, entitled Compêndio de Filosofia da Física Quântica. This essay presents the history of wave function realism, its various interpretations, the main arguments that are given for the position, and the main objections that have been raised to it.
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  • An accuracy-based approach to quantum conditionalization.Alexander Meehan & Jer Alex Steeger - forthcoming - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.
    A core tenet of Bayesian epistemology is that rational agents update by conditionalization. Accuracy arguments in favour of this norm are well known. Meanwhile, scholars working in quantum probability and quantum state estimation have proposed multiple updating rules, all of which look prima facie like analogues of Bayesian conditionalization. The most common are Lüders conditionalization and Bayesian mean estimation (BME). Some authors also endorse a lesser-known alternative that we call retrodiction. We show how one can view Lüders and BME as (...)
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  • (1 other version)Is the subjective interpretation of quantum probabilities really inconsistent?Lefteris Farmakis - 2009 - Theoria 23 (2):163-173.
    Christopher Fuchs has recently offered a provocative version of quantum mechanical realism, which is based on the suggestion that quantum probabilities merit a subjective interpretation. His proposal, however, has been charged with inconsistency by Amit Hagar, who argues that interpreting quantum probabilities subjectively is inconsistent with the realist claims Fuchs wants to maintain for the quantum system and the dimensionality of the Hilbert space that accompanies it. In this paper I first outline the fundamentals of Fuchs’s approach and then take (...)
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  • A New Book of Numbers: On the Precise Definition of Quantum Variables and the Relationships between Mathematics and Physics in Quantum Theory. [REVIEW]Arkady Plotnitsky - 2006 - Foundations of Physics 36 (1):30-60.
    Following Asher Peres’s observation that, as in classical physics, in quantum theory, too, a given physical object considered “has a precise position and a precise momentum,” this article examines the question of the definition of quantum variables, and then the new type (as against classical physics) of relationships between mathematics and physics in quantum theory. The article argues that the possibility of the precise definition and determination of quantum variables depends on the particular nature of these relationships.
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  • Is measurement a Black box? On the importance of understanding measurement even in quantum information and computation.Michael Dickson - 2007 - Philosophy of Science 74 (5):1019–1032.
    It has been argued, partly from the lack of any widely accepted solution to the measurement problem, and partly from recent results from quantum information theory, that measurement in quantum theory is best treated as a black box. However, there is a crucial difference between ‘having no account of measurement' and ‘having no solution to the measurement problem'. We know a lot about measurements. Taking into account this knowledge sheds light on quantum theory as a theory of information and computation. (...)
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  • (1 other version)Quantum information does exist.Armond Duwell - 2008 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 39 (1):195-216.
    Some physicists seem to believe that quantum information theory requires a new concept of information , Introduction to Quantum Computation and Information, World Scientific, Singapore, ; Deutsch & Hayden, 1999, Information flow in entangled quantum subsystems, preprint quant-ph/9906007). I will argue that no new concept is necessary. Shannon's concept of information is sufficient for quantum information theory. Properties that are cited to contrast quantum information and classical information actually point to differences in our ability to manipulate, access, and transfer information (...)
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  • (1 other version)A Consistent Quantum Ontology.Robert B. Griffiths - 2013 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 44 (2):93-114.
    The histories interpretation provides a consistent realistic ontology for quantum mechanics, based on two main ideas. First, a logic is employed which is compatible with the Hilbert-space structure of quantum mechanics as understood by von Neumann: quantum properties and their negations correspond to subspaces and their orthogonal complements. It employs a special syntactical rule to construct meaningful quantum expressions, quite different from the quantum logic of Birkhoff and von Neumann. Second, quantum time development is treated as an inherently stochastic process (...)
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  • The Status of our Ordinary Three Dimensions in a Quantum Universe1.Alyssa Ney - 2010 - Noûs 46 (3):525-560.
    There are now several, realist versions of quantum mechanics on offer. On their most straightforward, ontological interpretation, these theories require the existence of an object, the wavefunction, which inhabits an extremely high-dimensional space known as configuration space. This raises the question of how the ordinary three-dimensional space of our acquaintance fits into the ontology of quantum mechanics. Recently, two strategies to address this question have emerged. First, Tim Maudlin, Valia Allori, and her collaborators argue that what I have just called (...)
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  • Causation, Decision Theory, and Bell’s Theorem: A Quantum Analogue of the Newcomb Problem.Eric G. Cavalcanti - 2010 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 61 (3):569-597.
    I apply some of the lessons from quantum theory, in particular from Bell’s theorem, to a debate on the foundations of decision theory and causation. By tracing a formal analogy between the basic assumptions of causal decision theory (CDT)—which was developed partly in response to Newcomb’s problem— and those of a local hidden variable theory in the context of quantum mechanics, I show that an agent who acts according to CDT and gives any nonzero credence to some possible causal interpretations (...)
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  • (1 other version)A note on information theoretic characterizations of physical theories.Hans Halvorson - 2003 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 35 (2):277-293.
    Clifton, Bub, and Halvorson (CBH) have recently argued that quantum theory is characterized by its satisfaction of three fundamental information-theoretic constraints. However, it is not difficult to construct apparent counterexamples to the CBH characterization theorem. In this paper, we discuss the limits of the characterization theorem, and we provide some technical tools for checking whether a theory (specified in terms of the convex structure of its state space) falls within these limits.
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  • On the Character of Quantum Law: Complementarity, Entanglement, and Information.Arkady Plotnitsky - 2017 - Foundations of Physics 47 (8):1115-1154.
    This article considers the relationships between the character of physical law in quantum theory and Bohr’s concept of complementarity, under the assumption of the unrepresentable and possibly inconceivable nature of quantum objects and processes, an assumption that may be seen as the most radical departure from realism currently available. Complementarity, the article argues, is a reflection of the fact that, as against classical physics or relativity, the behavior of quantum objects of the same type, say, all electrons, is not governed (...)
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  • On the Physical Explanation for Quantum Computational Speedup.Michael Cuffaro - 2013 - Dissertation, The University of Western Ontario
    The aim of this dissertation is to clarify the debate over the explanation of quantum speedup and to submit, for the reader's consideration, a tentative resolution to it. In particular, I argue, in this dissertation, that the physical explanation for quantum speedup is precisely the fact that the phenomenon of quantum entanglement enables a quantum computer to fully exploit the representational capacity of Hilbert space. This is impossible for classical systems, joint states of which must always be representable as product (...)
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  • ‘Shut up and contemplate!’: Lucien Hardy׳s reasonable axioms for quantum theory.Olivier Darrigol - 2015 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 52 (Part B):328-342.
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  • Interpreting Quantum Mechanics according to a Pragmatist Approach.Manuel Bächtold - 2008 - Foundations of Physics 38 (9):843-868.
    The aim of this paper is to show that quantum mechanics can be interpreted according to a pragmatist approach. The latter consists, first, in giving a pragmatic definition to each term used in microphysics, second, in making explicit the functions any theory must fulfil so as to ensure the success of the research activity in microphysics, and third, in showing that quantum mechanics is the only theory which fulfils exactly these functions.
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  • A remark on Fuchs’ Bayesian interpretation of quantum mechanics.Veiko Palge & Thomas Konrad - 2005 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 39 (2):273-287.
    Quantum mechanics is a theory whose foundations spark controversy to this day. Although many attempts to explain the underpinnings of the theory have been made, none has been unanimously accepted as satisfactory. Fuchs has recently claimed that the foundational issues can be resolved by interpreting quantum mechanics in the light of quantum information. The view proposed is that quantum mechanics should be interpreted along the lines of the subjective Bayesian approach to probability theory. The quantum state is not the physical (...)
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  • Objective Probability and Quantum Fuzziness.U. Mohrhoff - 2009 - Foundations of Physics 39 (2):137-155.
    This paper offers a critique of the Bayesian interpretation of quantum mechanics with particular focus on a paper by Caves, Fuchs, and Schack containing a critique of the “objective preparations view” or OPV. It also aims to carry the discussion beyond the hardened positions of Bayesians and proponents of the OPV. Several claims made by Caves et al. are rebutted, including the claim that different pure states may legitimately be assigned to the same system at the same time, and the (...)
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  • Generalized frameworks: Structuring searches for new physics.Adam Koberinski - 2023 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 13 (1):1-23.
    Many areas of frontier physics are confronted with the crisis of a lack of accessible, direct evidence. As a result, direct model building has failed to lead to any new empirical discoveries. In this paper I argue that these areas of frontier physics have developed common methods for turning precision measurements of known quantities into potential evidence for anomalies hinting at new physics. This method of framework generalization has arisen as a sort of model-independent method for generalizing beyond known physics (...)
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  • The Case for Quantum State Realism.Morgan C. Tait - 2012 - Dissertation, The University of Western Ontario
    I argue for a realist interpretation of the quantum state. I begin by reviewing and critically evaluating two arguments for an antirealist interpretation of the quantum state, the first derived from the so-called ‘measurement problem’, and the second from the concept of local causality. I argue that existing antirealist interpretations do not solve the measurement problem. Furthermore, I argue that it is possible to construct a local, realist interpretation of quantum mechanics, using methods borrowed from quantum field theory and based (...)
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  • Quantum Causality Relations and the Emergence of Reality from Coherent Superpositions.Holger F. Hofmann - 2020 - Foundations of Physics 50 (12):1809-1823.
    The Hilbert space formalism describes causality as a statistical relation between initial experimental conditions and final measurement outcomes, expressed by the inner products of state vectors representing these conditions. This representation of causality is in fundamental conflict with the classical notion that causality should be expressed in terms of the continuity of intermediate realities. Quantum mechanics essentially replaces this continuity of reality with phase sensitive superpositions, all of which need to interfere in order to produce the correct conditional probabilities for (...)
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  • (1 other version)On information-theoretic characterizations of physical theories.Hans Halvorson - 2004 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 35 (2):277-293.
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  • (1 other version)A consistent quantum ontology.Robert B. Griffiths - 2013 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 44 (2):93-114.
    The histories interpretation provides a consistent realistic ontology for quantum mechanics, based on two main ideas. First, a logic is employed which is compatible with the Hilbert-space structure of quantum mechanics as understood by von Neumann: quantum properties and their negations correspond to subspaces and their orthogonal complements. It employs a special syntactical rule to construct meaningful quantum expressions, quite different from the quantum logic of Birkhoff and von Neumann. Second, quantum time development is treated as an inherently stochastic process (...)
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  • Information and quantum theory.Olival Freire Junior & Ileana Maria Greca - 2013 - Scientiae Studia 11 (1):11-33.
    A pesquisa em informação quântica sugere uma íntima conexão entre o conceito de informação e a teoria quântica, mas essa conexão envolve nuances cuja análise é o objeto deste trabalho. A sabedoria comum nesse campo divide-se em duas grandes áreas, não excludentes entre si. Há os que são movidos pela possibilidade de uso da teoria quântica em um novo campo, o da computação, independentemente do esclarecimento de seus fundamentos, aqui incluído o conceito de "informação". Alguns consideram que estamos diante de (...)
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  • Is the Epistemic View of Quantum Mechanics Incomplete?M. Ferrero, D. Salgado & J. L. Sánchez-Gómez - 2004 - Foundations of Physics 34 (12):1993-2003.
    One of the most tantalizing questions about the interpretation of Quantum Theory is the objective vs. subjective meaning of quantum states. Here, by focusing on a typical EPR experiment upon which a selection procedure is performed on one side, we will confront the fully epistemic view of quantum states with its results. Our statement is that such a view cannot be considered complete, although the opposite attitude would also pose well-known problems of interpretation.
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  • (2 other versions)Re-conceiving quantum theories in terms of information-theoretic constraints.Armond Duwell - 2007 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 38 (1):181-201.
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  • (2 other versions)Re-conceiving quantum theories in terms of information-theoretic constraints.Armond Duwell - 2007 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 38 (1):181-201.
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  • Uncomfortable bedfellows: Objective quantum Bayesianism and the von Neumann–Lüders projection postulate.Armond Duwell - 2011 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 42 (3):167-175.
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  • (1 other version)Quantum information does exist.Armond Duwell - 2008 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 39 (1):195-216.
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  • Philosophy of Physics.Elise M. Crull - 2013 - Analysis 73 (4):771-784.
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  • Quantum monism: an assessment.Claudio Calosi - 2018 - Philosophical Studies 175 (12):3217-3236.
    Monism is roughly the view that there is only one fundamental entity. One of the most powerful argument in its favor comes from quantum mechanics. Extant discussions of quantum monism are framed independently of any interpretation of the quantum theory. In contrast, this paper argues that matters of interpretation play a crucial role when assessing the viability of monism in the quantum realm. I consider four different interpretations: modal interpretations, Bohmian mechanics, many worlds interpretations, and wavefunction realism. In particular, I (...)
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