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Related papers: Quantum randomness and free will

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Quantum decision theory is introduced here, and new basis for this theory is proposed. It is first based upon the author's general arguments for the Hilbert space formalism in quantum theory, next on arguments for the Born rule, that is,…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-02-13 Inge S. Helland

Free will discourse is primarily centred around the thesis of determinism. Much of the literature takes determinism as its starting premise, assuming it true for the sake of discussion, and then proceeds to present arguments for why, if…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2026-01-15 Henry D. Potter , George F. R. Ellis , Kevin J. Mitchell

We explore some implications of the hypothesis that quantum mechanics (QM) is universal, i.e., that QM does not merely describe information accessible to observers, but that it also describes the observers themselves. From that point of…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2012-11-22 H. Nikolic

We argue that measurement data in quantum physics can be rigorously interpreted only as a result of a statistical, macroscopic process, taking into account the indistinguishable character of identical particles. Quantum determinism is in…

General Physics · Physics 2025-07-22 Patrick Navez , Henni Ouerdane

The abstract concept of indeterministic free will is distinguished from the phenomenon of free will. Evidence for the abstract concept is examined and critically compared with various designs of automata. It is concluded that there is no…

General Physics · Physics 2018-02-15 Mark J Hadley

One of quantum theory's salient features is its apparent indeterminism, i.e. measurement outcomes are typically probabilistic. We formally define and address whether this uncertainty is unavoidable or whether post-quantum theories can offer…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2024-11-15 Johannes Fankhauser

Before Alan Turing made his crucial contributions to the theory of computation, he studied the question of whether quantum mechanics could throw light on the nature of free will. This article investigates the roles of quantum mechanics and…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-06-17 Seth Lloyd

The evolution of the human mind through natural selection mandates that our conscious experiences are causally potent in order to leave a tangible impact upon the surrounding physical world. Any attempt to construct a functional theory of…

Neurons and Cognition · Quantitative Biology 2024-05-10 Danko D. Georgiev

This is a review of the issue of randomness in quantum mechanics, with special emphasis on its ambiguity; for example, randomness has different antipodal relationships to determinism, computability, and compressibility. Following a…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2020-02-19 Klaas Landsman

The concept of 'super-indeterminism' captures the notion that the free choice assumption of orthodox quantum mechanics necessitates only the following requirement: an agent's free-choice performance in the selection of measurement settings…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2016-04-01 Jan Walleczek

Wave-particle duality is one of the fundamental properties of matter and at the same time, one of the mysteries of modern physics. In this paper, we propose and analyze a new interpretation of the wave-particle duality, and propose a new…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-06-15 S. A. Rashkovskiy

Quantum mechanics marks a radical departure from the classical understanding of Nature, fostering an inherent randomness which forbids a deterministic description; yet the most fundamental departure arises from something different. As shown…

It is often claimed that the collapse of the wave function and Born's rule to interpret the square of the norm as a probability, have to be introduced as separate axioms in quantum mechanics besides the Schroedinger equation. Here we show…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2012-07-23 Gerard 't Hooft

A realist description of our universe requires a twofold concept of locality. On one hand, there are the strictly Einstein-local interactions which generate the time evolution. On the other hand, the quantum state space calls for a…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2013-08-27 Andreas O. Tell

The mathematical notion of incompleteness (eg of rational numbers, Turing-computable functions, and arithmetic proof) does not play a key role in conventional physics. Here, a reformulation of the kinematics of quantum theory is attempted,…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 T. N. Palmer

In Bell inequality tests, the evolution of the wavefunction is not covariant, i.e. not invariant under velocity boost that change the time ordering of events, but the laws that govern the probability distribution of possible results are. In…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2010-02-09 Nicolas Gisin

Functional theories of consciousness, based on emergence of conscious experiences from the execution of a particular function by an insentient brain, face the hard problem of consciousness of explaining why the insentient brain should…

Neurons and Cognition · Quantitative Biology 2025-04-29 Danko D. Georgiev

The main distinction between classical mechanics and quantum mechanics is the lack in the latter of a full mechanical determinism: different final states can arise from the same physical state, after the measurement. No hidden variable is…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-05-13 Francesco Caravaglios

I. The arena of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory is the abstract, unobserved and unobservable, M-dimensional formal Hilbert space [not equal to] spacetime. II. The arena of observations and, more generally, of all events (i.e.…

General Physics · Physics 2023-10-05 Johan Hansson

In physics, there is the prevailing intuition that we are part of a unique external world, and that the goal of physics is to understand and describe this world. This assumption of the fundamentality of objective reality is often seen as a…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2019-07-22 Markus P. Mueller