Philosophical Consequences of Quantum Theory

James T. Cushing And Ernan Mcmullin (Editors)

Description

From the beginning, the implications of quantum theory for our most general understanding of the world have been a matter of intense debate. Einstein argues that the theory had to be regarded as fundamentally incomplete. Its inability, for example, to predict the exact time of decay of a single radioactive atom had to be due to a failure of the theory and not due to a permanent inability on our part or a fundamental indeterminism in nature itself.

In 1964, John Bell derived a theorem which showed that any deterministic theory which preserved "locality" (i.e., which rejected action at a distance) would have certain consequences for measurements performed at a distance from one another. An experimental check seems to show that these consequences are not, in fact, realized. The correlation between the sets of events is much stronger than any "local" deterministic theory could allow. What is more, this stronger correlation is precisely that which is predicted by quantum theory. The astonishing result is that local deterministic theories of the classical sort seem to be permanently excluded. Not only can the individual decay not be predicted, but no future theory can ever predict it.

The contributors in this volume wrestle with this conclusion. Some welcome it; others leave open a return to at lease some kind of deterministic world, one which must however allow something like action-at-a distance. How much lit it? And how can one avoid violating relativity theory, which excludes action-at-a-distance? How can a clash between the two fundamental theories of modern physics, relativity and quantum theory, be avoided? What are the consequences for the traditional philosophic issue of causality explanation and objectivity? One thing is certain; we can never return to the comfortable Newtonian world where everything that happened was, in principle, predictable and where what happened at one measurement site could not affect another set of measurements being performed light-years away, at a distance that a light-signal could not bridge.

Contributors: James T. Cushing, Abner Shimony, N. David Mermin, Jon P. Jarrett, Linda Wessels, Bas C. van Fraassen, Jeremy Butterfield, Michael L. G. Redhead, Henry P. Stapp, Arthur Fine, R. I. G. Hughes, Paul Teller, Don Howard, Henry J. Folse, and Ernan McMullin.

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Métaphysique
• Épistémologie
• Quantum Theory
• PHILOSOPHY
• Sciences et techniques
• Logic
• Physics
• Metaphysics
• Newton
• Science
• Albert Einstein

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 31 octobre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268089696
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 31 Mo

Extrait

Copyright © 1989 by University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 All Rights Reserved Publishedin the United States of America

Reprinted in 2014

This eboo k has been made possible in part by a ma j or grant from the National Endowment for the H umanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this boo k do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the H umanities .

N. David Mermin, “Quantum Mysteries for Anyone,” is re- printed with permission fromJournal of Philosophy(1981): 78 397–408. Bas van Fraassen, “The Charybdis of Realism: Epistemologi- cal Implications of Bell’s Inequality,’’ is reprinted with permission of Kluwer Academic Publishers fromSynthese(1982): 25–38. 52 Copyright © 1982 by D. Reidel Publishing Company. Figure 5 in James T. Cushing, “A Background Essay,” is Figure 1 from A. Peres and W. H. Zurek, “Is Quantum Theory Universally Valid?’’American Journal of Physics(1982): 809– 50 810, and reprinted with permission. Copyright is held by the American Association of Physics Teachers.

Cover: Igure from John S. Bell’s Collège de France lecture, “Bertlmann’s Socks and the Nature of Reality,” delivered to an audience of philosophers and physicists in 1980. The reader not already aware of the profound implications of Bertlmann’s socks for the nature of reality should consult Bell’s elegant lecture, originally published in theJournal de Physique, 1981, and re- printed in his anthology,Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics,1987.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Philosophical consequences of quantum theory : reLectionson Bell’s theory / James T. Cushing and Ernan McMullin, editors. p. cm.—(Studies in science and the humanities from the Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values ; 2)

Bibliography: p. Includes index. ISBN 0-268-01578-3 — ISBN 0-268-01579-1 (pbk.) I. Quantum theory. 2. Physics—Philosophy. 3. Philosophy. I. Cushing, James T., 1937– II. McMullin, Ernan, 1924– . III. Title: Bell’s theory. IV. Series: Studies in science and the humanities from the Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values ; v. 2. QCl74.12.P43 1989 530.1'2—dc19 89-40014