Related papers: On Participatory Realism
The subjective Bayesian interpretation of quantum mechanics (QBism) and Rovelli's relational interpretation of quantum mechanics (RQM) are both notable for embracing the radical idea that measurement outcomes correspond to events whose…
One of the most fundamental phenomena of quantum physics is entanglement. It describes an inseparable connection between quantum systems, and properties thereof. In a quantum mechanical description even systems far apart from each other can…
The relation between quantum theory and special relativity is peculiar. On the one hand it is close and essential. Steven Weinberg [1], for example, takes the position that the standard model is an inevitable consequence of the marriage of…
The fundamental physical theories that interpret and explain behaviour of matter in nature are dependent on several unobservables and insensibles in their construction. While a rigorous natural philosophy cannot take them for granted, there…
In quantum mechanics, the selfadjoint Hilbert space operators play a triple role as observables, generators of the dynamical groups and statistical operators defining the mixed states. One might expect that this is typical of Hilbert space…
Reductionism has dominated science and philosophy for centuries. Complexity has recently shown that interactions---which reductionism neglects---are relevant for understanding phenomena. When interactions are considered, reductionism…
Orthodox Copenhagen quantum theory renounces the quest to understand the reality in which we are imbedded, and settles for practical rules describing connections between our observations. Many physicist have regarded this renunciation of…
The concept of the physical state of a system is ubiquitous in physics but is usually presented in terms of specific cases. For example, the state of a point particle of mass m is completely characterized by its position and momentum. There…
The formalism of quantum theory in Hilbert space has been applied with success to the modeling and explanation of several cognitive phenomena, whereas traditional cognitive approaches were problematical. However, this 'quantum cognition…
I revisit the Wigner (or Weyl-Wigner, WW) representation of the quantum electromagnetic field. I show that, assuming that Fock states are just mathematical concepts devoid of physical reality, WW suggests a realistic interpretation which…
We present a contextualist statistical realistic model for quantum-like representations in physics, cognitive science and psychology. We apply this model to describe cognitive experiments to check quantum-like structures of mental…
In quantum mechanics, it is possible to make observations that affect physical entities without there being a physical interaction between the observer and the physical entity measured. Epstein (1945) and Renninger (1960) discussed this…
There are two broad opposing classes of attitudes to reality (realist vs idealist, material vs mental) with corresponding attitudes to knowledge (objective vs subjective, scientific vs romantic). I argue that these attitudes can be…
Scientific realism in classical (i.e. pre-quantum) physics has remained compatible with the naive realism of everyday thinking on the whole; whereas it has proven impossible to find any consistent way to visualize the world underlying…
In 1935, Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen argued that quantum mechanics is incomplete based on the assumption that local actions cannot influence elements of reality at a distant location (local realism). In this work, using a recently defined…
A new formulation of relativistic quantum mechanics is proposed in the framework of the rest-frame instant form of dynamics with its instantaneous Wigner 3-spaces and with its description of the particle world-lines by means of derived…
In a recent article, Khrennikov claims that a particular theorem about agreement between quantum measurement results poses a problem for the interpretation of quantum mechanics known as QBism. Considering the basic setup of that theorem in…
In recent literature, it has become clear that quantum physics does not refute Humeanism. This point has so far been made with respect to Bohms quantum theory. Against this background, this paper seeks to achieve the following four results:…
Richard Feynman famously said that nobody understands quantum mechanics and cautioned against asking: "But how can it be like that?" Something about the conceptual foundations of the theory is profoundly puzzling, but just what is so…
The ``Hard Problem" of consciousness refers to a long-standing enigma about how qualia emerge from physical processes in the brain. Building on insights from the development of non-Euclidean geometry, this paper seeks to present a…