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Articles 1 - 20 of 20
Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Is The Kalam Cosmological Argument's Second Premise Defendable?, Mark Karapetyan
Is The Kalam Cosmological Argument's Second Premise Defendable?, Mark Karapetyan
Masters Theses
Contrary to the skeptic's rejections, the second premise of the cosmological argument can be defended via scientific and philosophical arguments.
Patrick Aidan Heelan’S The Observable: Heisenberg’S Philosophy Of Quantum Mechanics, Paul Downes
Patrick Aidan Heelan’S The Observable: Heisenberg’S Philosophy Of Quantum Mechanics, Paul Downes
Research Resources
The publication of Patrick Aidan Heelan’s The Observable, with forewords from Michel Bitbol, editor Babette Babich and the author himself, offers a timely invitation to reconsider the relation between quantum physics and continental philosophy.
Patrick Heelan does so, as a contemporary of and interlocutor with Werner Heisenberg on these issues, as a physicist himself who trained with leading figures of quantum mechanics (QM), Erwin Schrödinger and Eugene Wigner. Moreover, Heelan highlights Heisenberg’s interest in phenomenology as ‘a friend and frequent visitor of Martin Heidegger’ (55). Written originally in 1970 and unpublished then for reasons Babich explicates in her foreword, …
Rethinking Individuality In Quantum Mechanics, Nathan Moore
Rethinking Individuality In Quantum Mechanics, Nathan Moore
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
One recent debate in philosophy of physics has centered whether quantum particles are individuals or not. The received view is that particles are not individuals and the standard methodology is to approach the question via the structure of quantum theory. I challenge both the received view and the standard methodology. I contend not only that the structure of quantum theory is not the right place to look for conditions of individuality that quantum particles may or may not satisfy, but also that there is an important role for traditional metaphysics to play. Consequently, my work brings together the philosophy of …
The Participating Mind In The Quantum Universe, Menas Kafatos, Keun-Hang Susan Yang
The Participating Mind In The Quantum Universe, Menas Kafatos, Keun-Hang Susan Yang
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
The Orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics, which followed the Copenhagen Interpretation but was enhanced by primarily Werner Heisenberg and John von Neumann into a fully developed theory, brought in, among others, the role of measurement, available choices and response of the quantum system. It is, more consistent and clear than other interpretations of quantum mechanics as it provides account of the interactions of observers with the external world. As such, the Orthodox interpretation does a lot more than just account for physical interactions in the atomic world, which was the original goal of quantum mechanics in the early part of …
Sheaf Theoretic Formulation For Consciousness And Qualia And Relationship To The Idealism Of Non-Dual Philosophies, Menas Kafatos, Goro Kato
Sheaf Theoretic Formulation For Consciousness And Qualia And Relationship To The Idealism Of Non-Dual Philosophies, Menas Kafatos, Goro Kato
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
Questions about the nature of reality, whether Consciousness is the fundamental reality in the universe, and what is Consciousness itself, have no answer in systems that assume an external reality independent of Consciousness. Ultimately, the ontological foundation of such systems is the absolute division of subject and object. We advocate instead what we consider to be an approach that is in agreement with the foundation of quantum reality, which is based on Rāmānuja’s version of Vedanta philosophy and non-dual Kashmir Śaivism. Quantum mechanics opened the door to consciousness, but it cannot account for consciousness. However, the quantum measurement problem implies …
The Philosophical Differences Between Heisenberg And Bohr, Patrick Heelan
The Philosophical Differences Between Heisenberg And Bohr, Patrick Heelan
Research Resources
Chapter from: Patrick Aidan Heelan, The Observable: Heisenberg’s Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics. With a foreword by Michel Bitbol. Edited and with a foreword by Babette Babich. Oxford: Peter Lang, 2015.
Fundamental Mathematics Of Consciousness, Menas Kafatos
Fundamental Mathematics Of Consciousness, Menas Kafatos
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
We explore a mathematical formalism that ties together the observer with the observed in the view that Consciousness is primary, operating through three principles which apply at all levels, the essence of qualia of experience. The formalism is a simplified version of Hilbert space mathematics encountered in quantum mechanics. It does, however, go beyond specific interpretations of quantum mechanics and has strong philosophical foundations in Western philosophy as well as monistic systems of the East. The implications are explored and steps for the full development of this axiomatic mathematical approach to Consciousness are discussed.
The Case For Quantum State Realism, Morgan C. Tait
The Case For Quantum State Realism, Morgan C. Tait
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
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 on John S. Bell’s concept of ‘local beables’.
If the quantum state is interpreted subjectively, then the probabilities it …
Holism And Non-Separability Applied To Quantum Mechanics, Catherine E. Nisson
Holism And Non-Separability Applied To Quantum Mechanics, Catherine E. Nisson
Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
Einstein was never satisfied with quantum mechanics. He argued that quantum mechanics was incomplete for two main reasons; it violated the locality principle and the separability principle. The violation of separability is an unavoidable consequence of quantum interactions. Non-separability can be seen in quantum entanglement. Non-locality, however, is more controversial. Einstein and his associates published the EPR paper in order to argue for the incompleteness of quantum mechanics. Years later, John Bell formulated what became known as the Bell Inequalities in response to the EPR paper. The Bell Inequalities are seen as a major obstacle for quantum locality. I will …
On Relational Quantum Mechanics, Oscar Acosta
On Relational Quantum Mechanics, Oscar Acosta
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
A problem facing quantum mechanics is that there are a number of views or interpretations available that purport to 'explain' quantum mechanics. In this paper I discuss and analyze the view of relational quantum mechanics by Carlo Rovelli in the context of theoretical underdetermination. I will show that even though Rovelli offers a view that consolidates some of the aspects of competing theories it still falls short of breaking out of the theoretical underdetermination. The criteria that I have used to consider a theory successful in this context is one that increases the predictive output of quantum theory. Lacking an …
Ontological Status Of Relational Quantum Mechanics, Juan Ferret
Ontological Status Of Relational Quantum Mechanics, Juan Ferret
Juan Ferret
No abstract provided.
The Problem Of Time In Quantum Mechanics, Crisol J. Escobedo
The Problem Of Time In Quantum Mechanics, Crisol J. Escobedo
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
The purpose of my Thesis is to gain a better understanding of the nature of time and the problems associated with time. For example, I aim to explore the problem associated with the energy-time uncertainty relation due to the lack of a universal operator for time. Using Jan Hilgevoord's work, I will explore the idea that if a measure of time is to be obtained in quantum mechanics, then time has to be a property of physical systems that can only be measured in relation to other systems. As such, time cannot be independent of physical systems. This implies that …
Foundations And Philosophy Of Physics, Juan Ferret
The Price Of Insisting That Quantum Mechanics Is Complete, P.D. Magnus
The Price Of Insisting That Quantum Mechanics Is Complete, P.D. Magnus
Philosophy Faculty Scholarship
The Bare Theory was offered by David Albert as a way of standing by the completeness of quantum mechanics in the face of the measurement problem. This paper surveys objections to the Bare Theory that recur in the literature: what will here be called the oddity objection, the coherence objection, and the context-of-the-universe objection. Critics usually take the Bare Theory to have unacceptably bizarre consequences, but to be free from internal contradiction. Bizarre consequences need not be decisive against the Bare Theory, but a further objection—dubbed here the calibration objection—has been underestimated. This paper argues that the Bare Theory is …
Hermeneutics Of Experimental Science In The Context Of The Life-World, Patrick A. Heelan
Hermeneutics Of Experimental Science In The Context Of The Life-World, Patrick A. Heelan
Research Resources
Science is distinguished as an element of our total contemporary culture, or “historical science,” from science as the professional business of natural scientists, or “experimental science.” Phenomenology has always taken a very critical stance against certain defects or biases -- objectivism, scientism, technicism -- it has found in historical science. It is my purpose to show that these defects and biases, associated historically with physical science, are not necessary parts of physical science, and consequently, that physics, especially experimental physics, has all of those hermeneutical, ontological, historical and dialectical dimensions negated by historical science. The notion of dialectic is given …
Hermeneutics Of Experimental Science In The Context Of The Life-World, Patrick A. Heelan
Hermeneutics Of Experimental Science In The Context Of The Life-World, Patrick A. Heelan
Articles and Chapters in Academic Book Collections
Science is distinguished as an element of our total contemporary culture, or “historical science,” from science as the professional business of natural scientists, or “experimental science.” Phenomenology has always taken a very critical stance against certain defects or biases -- objectivism, scientism, technicism -- it has found in historical science. It is my purpose to show that these defects and biases, associated historically with physical science, are not necessary parts of physical science, and consequently, that physics, especially experimental physics, has all of those hermeneutical, ontological, historical and dialectical dimensions negated by historical science. The notion of dialectic is given …
Hermeneutics Of Experimental Science In The Context Of The Life-World, Patrick A. Heelan
Hermeneutics Of Experimental Science In The Context Of The Life-World, Patrick A. Heelan
Research Resources
As an element of our total contemporary culture, "historical science" may be distinguished from "experimental" science as the professional business of natural scientists. Phenomenology has always taken a very critical stance against certain defects or biasses -- objectivism, scientism, techicism -- it has found in historical science. I show that these defects and biasses, associated historically with physical science, are not necessary parts of physical science, and consequently, that physics, especially experimental physics, has all of those hermeneutical, ontological, historical and dialectical dimensions negated by historical science.
The Discovery Of Quantum Mechanics, Patrick A. Heelan
The Discovery Of Quantum Mechanics, Patrick A. Heelan
Research Resources
In this chapter Heelan discusses how Heisenberg's insight of 1925, that physics should concern itself henceforth only with relations between observables, changed the intentionality-structure of physics. This insight led Heisenberg to the construction of a quantum mechanics of observables. Heelan briefly discusses the significance of his insighand of his rejection of Schrödinger's wave mechanics; the novelty of quantum mechanics as a physical theory, and the meaning he attributed to its most surprising result, viz., the Indeterminacy Relations. The crisis was a crisis of the rationalism inherent in the outlook of classical physics, and Heisenberg's insistence on "observable quantities" was a …
Complementarity And The Scientific Method: A Criticism, Patrick A. Heelan
Complementarity And The Scientific Method: A Criticism, Patrick A. Heelan
Research Resources
In this chapter "Conplementarity and the Scientific Method" of his Quantum Mechanics and Objectivity, Heelan argues that the philosophy of complementarity, although successful in providing physicists with a common language with which to describe quantum phenomena, also contains a theory about scientific method and about human knowing which is open to criticism. Heelan here criticises the following points arising out of the philosophy of complementarity: psycho-physical parallelism; the view that quantum mechanical properties are to be defined classically; and the perturbation theory of measurement. In the course of the criticism, he elaborates the distinction between two types of concepts …
Reality In Heisenberg's Philosophy - Chapter Eight Of Heelan's Quantum Mechanics And Objectivity, Patrick Heelan
Reality In Heisenberg's Philosophy - Chapter Eight Of Heelan's Quantum Mechanics And Objectivity, Patrick Heelan
Research Resources
This chapter contains a study of Heisenberg's views of the ontological content of quantum mechanics from I925 until the present day. During the quantum revolution of I925, he began by accepting a Berkeley-type empiricism in which the reality of a quantum mechanical system was reduced to that of a set of observation events, which were, however, acausally connected and in consequence did not constitute a stable phenomenal object of experimental knowledge. After 1955, he professed a modified form of Kantian philosophy whose starting point was the existence of universal and necessary scientific laws. Those universal and necessary scientific laws from …