The principle of causality or of determinism, and the notion of cause, are studied in the light of recent results in quantum mechanics. A definition of the concept of cause, loosely related to Lewis' counterfactual approach, is proposed. Then the question 'has every (physical) event a cause ?' is investigated. According to the orthodox quantum theory the answer to above question is negative. However, it is argued that there exist at least as many arguments in favor of a 'yes' (and (...) thus of determinism) as of 'no' – arguments that are fully compatible with quantum theory. Therefore the above question remains philosophical, and cannot be settled by scientific arguments, i.e. experiments or calculations, as many researchers believe. (shrink)

У статті досліджено поняття квантової заплутаності, його роль у фізиці, філософії, у оновленні світогляду. Відзначено, що до опису фізичної реальності його і низку похідних від нього увів Шредінгер у статті 1935 року в контексті обговорення мисленого експерименту Ейнштейна-Подольського-Розена, але вже у дотичній публікації 1936 року теоретик жодного разу їх не використав. З’ясовано, що з огляду на уведені фон Нейманом і запозичені Шредінгером поняття суміші й статистичного оператора поняття заплутаності не є безумовно необхідним. У певний момент розвитку теорії складних квантових систем (...) воно і похідні від нього слугували не дуже вдалими замінниками понять суміші, ситуації суміші. Порівняльний аналіз студій Шредінгера, фон Неймана і Ландау приводить до висновку про поступове долання уявлення складної квантової системи як квазімеханічного агрегату, натомість обґрунтування знаходить її цілісність. Тож цілісність притаманна не тільки квантовим явищам, а й квантовим системам самим по собі, об’єктивно. По суті саме намагання якось помислити цю обставину і викликала до життя поняття квантової заплутаності. Як поняття суміші, так і його замінники – поняття заплутаного стану, заплутаності і т. п. – мають не тільки наукове, а й метафізичне значення: вони доводять можливість раціонального мислення цілісності, обґрунтованість і результативність раціонального холізму. Тож метафізика квантової заплутаності у прийнятному сенсі є виявом метафізики раціонального холізму. Повне роз’яснення мисленого ЕПР-експерименту вимагає врахування обох відзначених виявів квантової цілісності. Можна сказати, що істотний результат довготривалого обговорення ЕПР-експерименту полягає у вичерпному визнанні цілісності квантово-фізичної реальності. Розглянуто низку узагальнень О. Александрова, І. Цехмістра і Д. Бома. Разом з виконаним дослідженням поняття квантової заплутаності чи обґрунтуванням Бором поняття неподільного квантового явища вони підтверджують незвідність фізичної реальності, Універсуму загалом до множини демокрітових атомів та їх незчисленних сполучень, агрегатів. Усе це збагачує і вдосконалює осмислення Всесвіту як дійсної цілісності, що видається новітньою заміною дотепер популярного світогляду в дусі Демокрита. (shrink)

It can be intuitively understood that sets and their elements in mathematics reflect the atomistic way of thinking in physics: Sets correspond to physical properties, and their elements correspond to particles that have these properties. At the same time, quantum statistics and quantum field theory strongly support the view that quantum particles are not individuals. Some of the problems faced in modern physics may be caused by such discrepancy between set theory and physical theory. The question then arises: Is it (...) possible to reconstruct the concept of set as a collection of objects that model quantum particles rather than as a mere collection of individuals? David Deutsch has argued that identical entities can be diverse in their attributes, and that this nature, what he calls fungibility, must lie at the heart of quantum physics. In line with this idea, a set theory with fungible elements is established, and the collection of such sets is shown to be endowed with an ortholattice structure, which is better known as quantum logic. (shrink)

This article focuses on questions of pure fact-of-the-matter and asks whether two omniscient judges may disagree over the legal answer to a straightforward question of a matter of fact. There are approaches to legal theory among some western and Jewish philosophers of law whereby at least superficially it is possible that two or more contradictory legal statements regarding a given reality can be equally correct. The article provides a critical analysis of three different models derived from the Jewish legal literature, (...) and reviews the contributions of Jewish sources to the understanding of the phenomenon of disagreements concerning matters of fact. (shrink)

Most recent writing linking science and literature has concerned itself with challenges to the epistemological status of scientific knowledge in an attempt to demonstrate its contingency, arguing in the more radical efforts that the structures of science are no more than useful fictions. This essay also includes an epistemological comparison between science and literature, but instead of making grand or meta–statements about the nature of knowing generally in the two fields, mine is a much narrower aim. My exploration entails two (...) tasks. First, I provide a close–up look at a particular type of experiment, called the delayed–choice experiment, which clearly reveals the strangeness of the quantum world. In connection with this experiment, I discuss wave functions—mathematical expressions used by physicists to describe quantum behavior and predict the outcome of experiments involving quanta. Second, I look at Walt Whitman's “Song of Myself” focusing on the meaning of the “self” in the poem. My aim is to treat the object of study in each field as a “text” and to assert and demonstrate a parallel in the strategies of thought and response between physicists (“readers”) pondering the meaning and status of a wave function and poem readers pondering the meaning and status of the poem's self. In Whitman's “Song” we find an attempt to understand complex aspects of human experience that are said to transcend ordinary reality, an effort for which I believe there are parallels in the attempts of modern physicists to understand complex, nonintuitive aspects of the subatomic world. While not making the kind of broad claims eschewed above, I do suggest that this focused study has interesting implications since both the wave function and the poem's self force their respective sets of “readers” to confront questions of ultimacy—to consider, that is, epistemological and ontological issues of more than passing interest to students of science as well as those of metaphysics and theology. (shrink)

A formulation by Einstein of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen incompleteness argument found in his scientific manuscripts is presented and briefly commented on. It is the only known version in which Einstein discussed the argument for spin observables. The manuscript dates, in all probability, from late 1954 or early 1955 and hence also represents Einstein's latest version of the incompleteness argument and one of his last statements on quantum theory in general. A puzzling formulation raises the question of Einstein's interpretation of space quantization (...) and the non-classical spin degree of freedom. (shrink)

The concept of contingency serves to bridge the doctrine of creation and natural science in Wolfhart Pannenberg's theology. My paper first analyzes the relation of creatio ex nihilo and creatio continua. Next I suggest three categories of contingency: global, local, and nomological. Under each category I assess Pannenberg's use of physics, cosmology, and philosophy of science. Although I agree with Pannenberg's emphasis on continuous creation and on the role of science in renewing the doctrine of creation, I argue for a (...) shift in the discussion from Pannenberg's topics to others, such as the anthropic principle, quantum physics, and thermodynamics. (shrink)

Bas van Fraassen advocates a “Copenhagen variant” of the modal interpretation of quantum mechanics. However, he believes that the Copenhagen approach to measurement is not fully satisfactory, since it seems to rule out the possibility of providing a physical account of the observation process. This was also what John Wheeler had in mind when, in the mid-1950’s, he sponsored the “relative state” formulation proposed by his student Hugh Everett. Wheeler, who considered himself an orthodox Bohrian, tried to convince Bohr to (...) accept the improvement of the Copenhagen approach represented in his eyes by Everett’s proposal. This attempt gave rise to a lively debate, which has been only recently documented, and which provides an interesting framework for the appraisal of van Fraassen’s own programme. (shrink)

In this paper I put forward a new micro realistic, fundamentally probabilistic, propensiton version of quantum theory. According to this theory, the entities of the quantum domain - electrons, photons, atoms - are neither particles nor fields, but a new kind of fundamentally probabilistic entity, the propensiton - entities which interact with one another probabilistically. This version of quantum theory leaves the Schroedinger equation unchanged, but reinterprets it to specify how propensitons evolve when no probabilistic transitions occur. Probabilisitic transitions occur (...) when new "particles" are created as a result of inelastic interactions. All measurements are just special cases of this. This propensiton version of quantum theory, I argue, solves the wave/particle dilemma, is free of conceptual problems that plague orthodox quantum theory, recovers all the empirical success of orthodox quantum theory, and at the same time yields as yet untested predictions that differ from those of orthodox quantum theory. (shrink)

Este trabajo presenta algunas discusiones preliminares a una reconstrucción de la mecánicacuántica desde una perspectiva estructuralista. Intento responder a la pregunta por lostérminos MQ- no teóricos, es decir, qué magnitudes pueden ser medidas con independenciade la ecuación de Schrödinger y de la regla de Born. Uno de los aspectos relevantes que puedeser analizado una vez que se ha respondido a esta pregunta es el problema de la medición.Dado que el problema de la medición está directamente relacionado con el carácter linealde (...) la evolución temporal del estado dada por la ecuación de Schrödinger, la medición delos valores de aquellos conceptos que no presupongan esta ley no se verá afectada por esteproblema. Si bien esto no responde a todas las preguntas sobre la medición cuántica, indicaun primer paso a dar en la dirección hacia una comprensión más acabada de este problema. (shrink)

We review the notion of complementarity of observables in quantum mechanics, as formulated and studied by Paul Busch and his colleagues over the years. In addition, we provide further clarification on the operational meaning of the concept, and present several characterisations of complementarity—some of which new—in a unified manner, as a consequence of a basic factorisation lemma for quantum effects. We work out several applications, including the canonical cases of position–momentum, position–energy, number–phase, as well as periodic observables relevant to spatial (...) interferometry. We close the paper with some considerations of complementarity in a noisy setting, focusing especially on the case of convolutions of position and momentum, which was a recurring topic in Paul’s work on operational formulation of quantum measurements and central to his philosophy of unsharp reality. (shrink)

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 (...) um grande problema conceitual sem resposta satisfatória no momento, enquanto que outros, dentre os que reconhecem a magnitude do problema, têm proposto formulações com a pretensão de solução do problema. Este artigo tem pretensões modestas. Não pretendemos aportar novas soluções ao problema, nem apoiar uma das soluções existentes. Temos a expectativa de através da análise histórico-conceitual do problema mapear as diversas possibilidades, apontando o que nos parecem ser aspectos fortes e fracos nessas possibilidades. Research in quantum information suggests a close connection between information and quantum theory. The aim of this article is to analyze nuances involved in this connection. Scientists in this field are divided into two overlapping camps. Some are motivated only by the use of quantum features to improve information processing, in spite of concerns about the foundations of the quantum theory, while others recognize deep conceptual problems of this theory, and attempt to solve them. This article has modest ambitions. It aims only to chart, by way of historical and conceptual analysis, the diverse possibilities available, indicating the strengths and weaknesses of each of them. (shrink)

Harrigan and Spekkens, introduced the influential notion of an ontological model of operational quantum theory. Ontological models can be either “epistemic” or “ontic.” According to the two scholars, Einstein would have been one of the first to propose an epistemic interpretation of quantum mechanics. Pusey et al. showed that an epistemic interpretation of quantum theory is impossible, so implying that Einstein had been refuted. We discuss in detail Einstein’s arguments against the standard interpretation of QM, proving that there is a (...) misunderstanding in Harrigan and Spekkens’ attribution of an epistemic perspective to Einstein, whose point of view was actually statistical, but in a quasi-classical sense. (shrink)

It is usually claimed that in order to assess a thought experiment we should assess the nomological possibility, or realizability in principle, of its scenario. This is undoubtedly true for many TEs, such as Bohr’s reply to Einstein’s photon box. Nevertheless, in some cases, such as Maxwell’s demon, this requirement should be relaxed. Many accounts of TEs fail in this regard. In particular, experimental and some mental model accounts are too strict, since they always require realizability in principle. This paper (...) aims at analysing the notion of possibility at play in the scenarios of scientific TEs, and sheds some new light on their nature and function. (shrink)

The Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) is an approach to quantum mechanics according to which, in addition to the world we are aware of directly, there are many other similar worlds which exist in parallel at the same space and time. The existence of the other worlds makes it possible to remove randomness and action at a distance from quantum theory and thus from all physics.

We have two main aims: to construct mathematical models for analysing determinism, causality and supervenience; and then to use these to demonstrate the possibility of constructing an ontic construal of the operation of free will - one requiring both the presentation of genuine alternatives to an agent and their selecting between them in a manner that permits the attribution of responsibility. Determinism is modelled using trans-temporal ontic links between discrete juxtaposed universe states and shown to be distinct from predictability. Causality (...) is defined on a temporal sequence of δ-algebras and quantified using a measure. The measure leads to definitions of causal overdetermination and epiphenomena. Proofs are constructed to demonstrate deterministic universes must carry their properties essentially but not necessarily locally. We argue determinism and causality are separate doctrines. These models and results are marshalled to put the case that a counterfactual construal of ontic choice cannot work. In response we propose ‘immanence’ - a modified form of indeterminism whereby a universe can present choices to its denizens. We prove that beings subsumed within a universe cannot pilot their own actions. We then argue these beings can exercise free will only when selecting between choices inhering within immanent relata. A being is responsible for its selections if and only if it is constituted of a temporally evolving deterministic substructure. Our proposal is novel: it avoids injecting indeterminism into the decision process. Topological models for property supervenience are developed and used to reconstruct standard definitions from the literature. These are then used to demonstrate considerations of supervenience do not affect our arguments. We have demonstrated that a model of the exercise of free will involving both genuine choices and responsibility is possible but can only operate within a non-deterministic universe possessing specific traits. (shrink)

as the chief novelty in the quantum description of nature, Einstein for having found vindication in 3 relativity theory for either positivism or realism, depending upon whom one asks. Famous as is each in his own domain, they are famous also, together, for their decades-long disagreement over the future of fundamental physics, their respective embrace and rejection of quantum indeterminacy being only the most widely-known point of contention.

In this article the Dirac equation is used a guideline to see the historical emergence of the concept of quanta, associated with the quantum field. In P. Jordan’s approach, the electron as quanta results from the quantization of a classical field described by the Dirac equation. The concept of quanta becomes a central piece in the applications of the theory and is seen as fundamental in the intelegibility of the interaction between fields, being the Fock space the natural mathematical structure (...) that permits maintaining the quanta concept when considering interactions. This doesn’t seem to avoid the apparent impossibility of using the concept of quanta – and with it the common interpretation of quantum field, when interacting fields are considered together as one complete system. In this article it is defended that the type of analysis that leads itself to so drastic conclusions is avoidable if a clear distinction is made of the theoretical framework and particular models used in the empirical corroboration of the theory. When dealing with models there is really no complete interacting fields, and what we have is a description of interaction between distinct fields. In this situation the concept of quanta is central in the description of interacting fields. (shrink)

This article presents a reconstruction of the so-called classical, formal or Mendelian genetics, which is intended to be more complete and adequate than existing reconstructions. This reconstruction has been carried out with the instruments, duly modified and extended with respect to the case under consideration, of the structuralist conception of theories. The so-called Mendel’s Laws, as well as linkage genetics and gene mapping are formulated in a precise manner while the global structure of genetics is represented as a theory-net. These (...) results are of methodological, philosophical and didactical relevance. (shrink)

Through the analysis of the interpretations of quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity, the paper aims to demonstrate the following thesis: the Duhem-Quine thesis on empirical underdetermination can be extended to the claim that not only the empirical data, but also the empirical data together with the mathematical formalism of a physical theory do not suffice to determine completely our theories of physical reality. As a consequence, beyond observational data and mathematical physics, cultural and social factors as well as (...) the value-preferences of physicists also play role as constitutive elements of physical theories. For example, the indeterminist interpretations of quantum mechanics are not neutral but value-laden, and deterministic interpretations, which insist on classical determinism as a value, are also possible. On the other hand, the thesis of the underdetermination of physical reality by mathematical physics confirms neither radical relativism, nor extreme versions of sociology of science. On the contrary, the mathematical formalism to be interpreted is autonomous – and in this sense “objective” – to a great extent with respect to cultural, social and other non-scientific factors and, therefore, there is a firm consensus regarding it in science. (shrink)

PhD dissertation addressing what can be called conceptual-mathematical anomalies in quantum electrodynamics. This work can be seen as following the line of philosophy of physics studies of quantum field theory that started to emerge in a systematic way in the early eighties of last century. One example is Teller’s work on standard quantum electrodynamics.In this work, by following a historical approach, I will return to the standard version of quantum electrodynamics, which is the only one available when we want to (...) get numbers out to compare with experimental results. This work spins around two main vectors. One is the divergence of the S-matrix series expansion, the other is the spatio-temporal description of physical processes in the theory. (shrink)

In this work I argue for the existence of an ontological state in which no entity in it can be more basic than the others in such a state. This is used to provide conceptual justification for a method that is applied to obtain the Schr\"{o}dinger equation, the Klein-Gordon equation, and the Klein-Gordon equation for a particle in an electromagnetic field. Additionally, it is argued that the existence of such state is incompatible with indirect realism; and the discussion suggests that (...) a panexeperientialist view is a straightforward means to embrace it. (shrink)

In 2002 the readers of the scientific magazine 'Physics World' voted Young's double-slit experiment applied to the interference of single electrons to be 'the most beautiful experiment in physics'; this experiment, in truth, had already been carried out 30 years beforehand. The present article aims to re-examine the latter real experiment and put it into its proper historical perspective. Even though the experiment was not afforded the importance it perhaps deserved among philosophers, its philosophical mplications add new arguments to the (...) already far-reaching debate triggered off by the ideal experiment. Within the context of quantum mechanics in particular, the experiment revealed for the first time the importance that ought to be attributed at the empirical level to single-case probability, that is, to the probability of a single electron's reaching the screen. I investigate how the empirical significance of the experimental results comes within the framework of the debate over the propensity interpretation of probability in quantum mechanics. I argue that the experiment, when examined in all its technical details does in fact throw light on the evidence for the propensity, as a physical property, of micro-objects. (shrink)

In recent years, the branching spacetime (BST) interpretation of quantum mechanics has come under study by a number of philosophers, physicists and mathematicians. This paper points out some implications of the BST interpretation for two areas of quantum physics: (1) quantum gravity, and (2) stochastic interpretations of quantum mechanics.

In this note I examine some implications of stochastic interpretations of quantum mechanics for the concept of "charge without charge" presented by Wheeler and Misner. I argue that if a stochastic interpretation of quantum mechanics were correct, then certain shortcomings of the "charge without charge" concept could be overcome.