dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaEarly Greek Thought and Perspectives for the Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics: Preliminaries to an Ontological Approach
| Authors | K. Verelst, B. Coecke |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0611064 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0611064 |
| DOI | 10.1007/978-94-017-2245-2_12 |
| Journal | Book Chapter, Springer, 1999, Cornelis, Smets, Van Bendegem (eds.) |
Abstract
It will be shown in this article that an ontological approach for some problems related to the interpretation of Quantum Mechanics could emerge from a re-evaluation of the main paradox of early Greek thought: the paradox of Being and non-Being, and the solutions presented to it by Plato and Aristotle. Plato's and Aristotle's systems are argued here to do on the ontological level essentially the same: to introduce stability in the world by introducing the notion of a separable, stable object, for which a principle of contradiction is valid: an object cannot be and not-be at the same place at the same time. After leaving Aristotelian metaphysics, early modern science had to cope with these problems: it did so by introducing ``space'' as the seat of stability, and ``time'' as the theater of motion. But the ontological structure present in this solution remained the same. Therefore the fundamental notion `separable system', related to the notions observation and measurement, themselves related to the modern concepts of space and time, appears to be intrinsically problematic, because it is inextricably connected to classical logic on the ontological level. We see therefore the problems dealt with by quantum logic not as merely formal, and the problem of `non-locality' as related to it, indicating the need to re-think the notions `system', `entity', as well as the implications of the operation `measurement', which is seen here as an application of classical logic (including its ontological consequences) on the material world.
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"abstract": "It will be shown in this article that an ontological approach for some\nproblems related to the interpretation of Quantum Mechanics could emerge from a\nre-evaluation of the main paradox of early Greek thought: the paradox of Being\nand non-Being, and the solutions presented to it by Plato and Aristotle.\nPlato\u0027s and Aristotle\u0027s systems are argued here to do on the ontological level\nessentially the same: to introduce stability in the world by introducing the\nnotion of a separable, stable object, for which a principle of contradiction is\nvalid: an object cannot be and not-be at the same place at the same time. After\nleaving Aristotelian metaphysics, early modern science had to cope with these\nproblems: it did so by introducing ``space\u0027\u0027 as the seat of stability, and\n``time\u0027\u0027 as the theater of motion. But the ontological structure present in\nthis solution remained the same. Therefore the fundamental notion `separable\nsystem\u0027, related to the notions observation and measurement, themselves related\nto the modern concepts of space and time, appears to be intrinsically\nproblematic, because it is inextricably connected to classical logic on the\nontological level. We see therefore the problems dealt with by quantum logic\nnot as merely formal, and the problem of `non-locality\u0027 as related to it,\nindicating the need to re-think the notions `system\u0027, `entity\u0027, as well as the\nimplications of the operation `measurement\u0027, which is seen here as an\napplication of classical logic (including its ontological consequences) on the\nmaterial world.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0611064",
"authors": [
"K. Verelst",
"B. Coecke"
],
"categories": [
"physics.hist-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1007/978-94-017-2245-2_12",
"journal_ref": "Book Chapter, Springer, 1999, Cornelis, Smets, Van Bendegem (eds.)",
"title": "Early Greek Thought and Perspectives for the Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics: Preliminaries to an Ontological Approach",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0611064"
},
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