dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaThe One, the Many, and the Quantum
| Authors | Ulrich Mohrhoff |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0005110 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0005110 |
Abstract
The problem of understanding quantum mechanics is in large measure the problem of finding appropriate ways of thinking about the spatial and temporal aspects of the physical world. The standard, substantival, set-theoretic conception of space is inconsistent with quantum mechanics, and so is the doctrine of local realism, the principle of local causality, and the mathematical physicist's golden calf, determinism. The said problem is made intractable by our obtruding onto the physical world a theoretical framework that is more detailed than the physical world. This framework portraits space and time as infinitely and intrinsically differentiated, whereas the physical world is only finitely differentiated spacewise and timewise, namely to the extent that spatiotemporal relations and distinctions are warranted by facts. This has the following consequences: (i) The contingent properties of the physical world, including the times at which they are possessed, are indefinite and extrinsic. (ii) We cannot think of reality as being built "from the bottom up", out of locally instantiated physical properties. Instead we must conceive of the physical world as being built "from the top down": By entering into a multitude of spatial relations with itself, "existence itself" takes on both the aspect of a spatially differentiated world and the aspect of a multiplicity of formless relata, the fundamental particles. At the root of our interpretational difficulties is the "cookie cutter paradigm", according to which the world's synchronic multiplicity is founded on the introduction of surfaces that carve up space in the manner of three-dimensional cookie cutters. The neurophysiological underpinnings of this insidious notion are discussed.
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"abstract": "The problem of understanding quantum mechanics is in large measure the\nproblem of finding appropriate ways of thinking about the spatial and temporal\naspects of the physical world. The standard, substantival, set-theoretic\nconception of space is inconsistent with quantum mechanics, and so is the\ndoctrine of local realism, the principle of local causality, and the\nmathematical physicist\u0027s golden calf, determinism. The said problem is made\nintractable by our obtruding onto the physical world a theoretical framework\nthat is more detailed than the physical world. This framework portraits space\nand time as infinitely and intrinsically differentiated, whereas the physical\nworld is only finitely differentiated spacewise and timewise, namely to the\nextent that spatiotemporal relations and distinctions are warranted by facts.\nThis has the following consequences: (i) The contingent properties of the\nphysical world, including the times at which they are possessed, are indefinite\nand extrinsic. (ii) We cannot think of reality as being built \"from the bottom\nup\", out of locally instantiated physical properties. Instead we must conceive\nof the physical world as being built \"from the top down\": By entering into a\nmultitude of spatial relations with itself, \"existence itself\" takes on both\nthe aspect of a spatially differentiated world and the aspect of a multiplicity\nof formless relata, the fundamental particles. At the root of our\ninterpretational difficulties is the \"cookie cutter paradigm\", according to\nwhich the world\u0027s synchronic multiplicity is founded on the introduction of\nsurfaces that carve up space in the manner of three-dimensional cookie cutters.\nThe neurophysiological underpinnings of this insidious notion are discussed.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0005110",
"authors": [
"Ulrich Mohrhoff"
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"title": "The One, the Many, and the Quantum",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0005110"
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