English

Objective Probability and the Mind-Body Relation

Quantum Physics 2017-02-09 v1 History and Philosophy of Physics

Abstract

Objective probability in quantum mechanics is often thought to involve a stochastic process whereby an actual future is selected from a range of possibilities. Everett's seminal idea is that all possible definite futures on the pointer basis exist as components of a macroscopic linear superposition. I demonstrate that these two conceptions of what is involved in quantum processes are linked by two alternative interpretation of the mind-body relation. This leads to a fission, rather than divergence, interpretation of Everettian theory and to a novel explanation of why a principle of indifference does not apply to self-location uncertainty for a post-measurement, pre-observation subject, just as Sebens and Carroll claim. Their Epistemic Separability Principle is shown to arise out of this explanation and the derivation of the Born rule for Everettian theory is thereby put on a firmer footing.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1702.02140,
  title  = {Objective Probability and the Mind-Body Relation},
  author = {Paul Tappenden},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1702.02140},
  year   = {2017}
}

Comments

29 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics

R2 v1 2026-06-22T18:11:58.191Z