Related papers: QCD and Natural Philosophy
Quantum physics and biology have long been regarded as unrelated disciplines, describing nature at the inanimate microlevel on the one hand and living species on the other hand. Over the last decades the life sciences have succeeded in…
The properties of the quantum universe on extremely small spacetime scales are studied in the semi-classical approach to the well-defined quantum model. It is shown that near the initial cosmological singularity point quantum gravity…
The aim of this thesis is to question some of the basic assumptions that go into building the $\Lambda$CDM model of our universe. The assumptions we focus on are the initial conditions of the universe, the fundamental forces in the universe…
We argue that the main reason of crisis in quantum theory is that nature, which is fundamentally discrete and even finite, is described by classical mathematics involving the notions of infinitely small, continuity etc. Moreover, since…
"All men by nature desire to know," states Aristotle in the famous first sentence of his Metaphysics. Knowledge about fundamental particles and interactions, that is, knowledge about the deepest aspects of matter, is certainly high if not…
The coherent superposition of states, in combination with the quantization of observables, represents one of the most fundamental features that mark the departure of quantum mechanics from the classical realm. Quantum coherence in many-body…
From the philosopher's perspective, the interest in quantum computation stems primarily from the way that it combines fundamental concepts from two distinct sciences: physics (especially quantum mechanics) and computer science, each long a…
One might think that, once we know something is computable, how efficiently it can be computed is a practical question with little further philosophical importance. In this essay, I offer a detailed case that one would be wrong. In…
The aim of this essay is to propose a conception of mathematics that is fully consonant with naturalism. By that I mean the hypothesis that everything that exists is part of the natural world, which makes up a unitary whole.
An example is presented when decoherence and quantum interference gives rise to narrow eigenstates (in coordinate representation) for the reduced density matrix of macroscopic quantum systems. On the basis of modal interpretations this…
We argue about a conceptual approach to quantum formalism. Starting from philosophical conjectures (Platonism, Idealism and Realism) as basic ontic elements (namely: math world, data world, and state of matter), we will analyze the quantum…
Quantum theory describes our universe incredibly successfully. To our classically-inclined brains, however, it is a bizarre description that requires a re-imagining of what fundamental reality, or "ontology", could look like. This thesis…
Quantum theory and Lorentz structure are the twin pillars of fundamental physics today. With quantum theory kept and Lorentz structure replaced by Euclidean Jordan algebra --- a more fundamental structure, one naturally arrives at the…
Forgetfulness is a common feature of nature. Moreover, without forgetfulness, repeatability would be impossible. Despite this, small systems constantly leak information about their state to their surroundings, and quantum mechanics tells us…
The rather unintuitive nature of quantum theory has led numerous people to develop sets of (physically motivated) principles that can be used to derive quantum mechanics from the ground up, in order to better understand where the structure…
The long lasting discussion on the completeness of quantum theory (QT) has not yet come to an end. The discussion is impeded by the lack of a clear understanding of what makes up the contents of a theory of physics in general and of QT…
Three observational tests of cosmological natural selection, a theory that follows from some hypotheses about quantum gravity, are described. If true, this theory explains the choices of the parameters of the standard model of particle…
Here we discuss direct links of the number of fundamental dimensions to the fundamental natural constants using simple arguments of dimensional analysis \corr{based on Maxwell's dimensions length (L), time (T) and mass (M) as well as the…
Understanding the quantum aspects of gravity is not only a matter of equations and experiments. Gravity is intimately connected with the structure of space and time, and understanding quantum gravity requires us to find a conceptual…
Physics is so successful today in understanding the nature of matter. What can it say about mind ? Is it possible to have a unified theory of matter and mind within the framework of modern science ? Is Consciousness an accident or is it a…