dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaThe Pondicherry interpretation of quantum mechanics
| Authors | Ulrich Mohrhoff |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/9903051 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9903051 |
| DOI | 10.1119/1.19535 |
| Journal | Am.J.Phys. 68 (2000) 728-745 |
Abstract
This article presents a novel interpretation of quantum mechanics. It extends the meaning of ``measurement'' to include all property-indicating facts. Intrinsically space is undifferentiated: there are no points on which a world of locally instantiated physical properties could be built. Instead, reality is built on facts, in the sense that the properties of things are extrinsic, or supervenient on property-indicating facts. The actual extent to which the world is spatially and temporally differentiated (that is, the extent to which spatiotemporal relations and distinctions are warranted by the facts) is necessarily limited. Notwithstanding that the state vector does nothing but assign probabilities, quantum mechanics affords a complete understanding of the actual world. If there is anything that is incomplete, it is the actual world, but its incompleteness exists only in relation to a conceptual framework that is more detailed than the actual world. Two deep-seated misconceptions are responsible for the interpretational difficulties associated with quantum mechanics: the notion that the spatial and temporal aspects of the world are adequately represented by sets with the cardinality of the real numbers, and the notion of an instantaneous state that evolves in time. The latter is an unwarranted (in fact, incoherent) projection of our apparent ``motion in time'' into the world of physics. Equally unwarranted, at bottom, is the use of causal concepts. There nevertheless exists a ``classical'' domain in which language suggestive of nomological necessity may be used. Quantum mechanics not only is strictly consistent with the existence of this domain but also presupposes it in several ways.
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"abstract": "This article presents a novel interpretation of quantum mechanics. It extends\nthe meaning of ``measurement\u0027\u0027 to include all property-indicating facts.\nIntrinsically space is undifferentiated: there are no points on which a world\nof locally instantiated physical properties could be built. Instead, reality is\nbuilt on facts, in the sense that the properties of things are extrinsic, or\nsupervenient on property-indicating facts. The actual extent to which the world\nis spatially and temporally differentiated (that is, the extent to which\nspatiotemporal relations and distinctions are warranted by the facts) is\nnecessarily limited. Notwithstanding that the state vector does nothing but\nassign probabilities, quantum mechanics affords a complete understanding of the\nactual world. If there is anything that is incomplete, it is the actual world,\nbut its incompleteness exists only in relation to a conceptual framework that\nis more detailed than the actual world. Two deep-seated misconceptions are\nresponsible for the interpretational difficulties associated with quantum\nmechanics: the notion that the spatial and temporal aspects of the world are\nadequately represented by sets with the cardinality of the real numbers, and\nthe notion of an instantaneous state that evolves in time. The latter is an\nunwarranted (in fact, incoherent) projection of our apparent ``motion in time\u0027\u0027\ninto the world of physics. Equally unwarranted, at bottom, is the use of causal\nconcepts. There nevertheless exists a ``classical\u0027\u0027 domain in which language\nsuggestive of nomological necessity may be used. Quantum mechanics not only is\nstrictly consistent with the existence of this domain but also presupposes it\nin several ways.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/9903051",
"authors": [
"Ulrich Mohrhoff"
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"quant-ph"
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"doi": "10.1119/1.19535",
"journal_ref": "Am.J.Phys. 68 (2000) 728-745",
"title": "The Pondicherry interpretation of quantum mechanics",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9903051"
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