English

Laws of Nature and the Reality of the Wave Function

Quantum Physics 2015-03-05 v1 History and Philosophy of Physics

Abstract

In this paper I review three different positions on the wave function, namely: nomological realism, dispositionalism, and configuration space realism by regarding as essential their capacity to account for the world of our experience. I conclude that the first two positions are committed to regard the wave function as an abstract entity. The third position will be shown to be a merely speculative attempt to derive a primitive ontology from a reified mathematical space. Without entering any discussion about nominalism, I conclude that an elimination of abstract entities from one's ontology commits one to instrumentalism about the wave function, a position that therefore is not as unmotivated as it has seemed to be to many philosophers.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1503.01137,
  title  = {Laws of Nature and the Reality of the Wave Function},
  author = {Mauro Dorato},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1503.01137},
  year   = {2015}
}