There is the widely held view that quantum physics differs fundamentally from classical physics regarding measurements. In order to prepare the ground for settling this question we discuss the consequences it has for classical physics if one includes measurement in the theory. After explaining the terms measurement and error it is argued that every measurement can be reduced to a measurement of length and/or number. Additionally to the wellknown statistical and systematical errors we introduce the (...) concept of classical uncertainty which states that every measurement of a physical quantity _A_ carries a finite inaccuracy Δ_A_. Hence it is transempirical to assign an infinite decimal number to a measurement. This implies that, also in classical physics, only probabilistic predictions are possible and that we need ensembles for the empirical testing of theoretical predictions. Furthermore we rebut the claim that in classical physics measurements can be performed without any disturbance of the system under investigation. Finally we state that by including measurements in the theory itself classical physics like quantum physics can be formulated as an indeterministic theory. Likewise both theories can be formulated deterministically if measurements are excluded from the theory. _German_ Gemäß einer weit verbreiteten Sichtweise gibt es hinsichtlich der Messung in der Quantenphysik und in der klassischen Physik einen grundlegenden Unterschied. Um einer Klärung dieser Frage den Boden zu bereiten, versuchen wir für die klassische Physik die Folgen zu diskutieren, die sich ergeben, wenn man die Messung in die Theorie mit einbezieht. Zunächst wird dafür argumentiert, dass jede Messung auf eine Längenbzw. Zählmessung zurückzuführen ist. Wir führen zusätzlich zu den bekannten Arten von Messfehlern – statistischen und systematischen Fehlern – das Konzept der klassischen Messunschärfe ein, das abbildet, dass jede Messung einer Messgröße _A_ mit einer endlichen Ungenauigkeit Δ_A_ behaftet sein muss. Dies bedeutet insbesondere, dass die Angabe von nichtendlichen Dezimalzahlen für Messwerte transempirisch ist. Die Betrachtung der Messfehler führt zu der Folgerung, dass auch in der klassischen Physik nur mehr Wahrscheinlichkeitsaussagen getroffen werden können und Messungen an Ensembles zur empirischen Bestätigung theoretischer Vorhersagen nötig sind. Außerdem wird die Behauptung entkräftet, in der klassischen Physik seien im Prinzip Messungen möglich, die den Zustand eines Systems nicht stören. Abschließend stellen wir heraus, dass durch Einbeziehung der Messung in die Theorie die klassische Physik wie die Quantenphysik als indeterministischen Theorie formuliert werden kann, ebenso wie beide ohne Einbeziehung der Messung deterministisch formuliert werden können. (shrink)

Kaum eine Äußerung Einsteins ist so bekannt wie sein Wort, dass Gott nicht würfelt. In ähnlicher Weise, wie Einstein dies unerläutert gelassen hat, ist seine gesamte Position zur Quantenmechanik, auf die es sich bezieht, von Uneindeutigkeiten nicht frei geblieben. Für seine Würfelmetapher ergibt sich ein Spielraum von gegensätzlichen Sichtweisen. Sie lässt sich zum einen mit jüngeren Forschungsresultaten verbinden und weist zum anderen auf rückschrittliche Elemente in Einsteins Denken hin. Ich wende mich zuerst diesen Elementen zu und betrachte dann eine dazu (...) entgegengerichtete Interpretationsvariante, die an den neueren Resultaten anknüpft. (shrink)

RésuméLa probabilité présente, en Physique classique, des caractères paradoxaux; relative à un état de connaissance, et n'apportant de renseignements que sur un ensemble nombreux d'essais, elle semble pourtant se définir comme un caractère objectif de l'événement isolé; elle suppose qu'on doive répondre » peut‐ětre « à certaines questions, alors que la Logique classique n'admet d'autre réponse que » oui « ou » non «. Utilisée par la micro‐physique, elle brise l'unité des fondements physico‐mathématiques qui se manifestait dans la Logique bivalente, (...) conçue comme théorie de l'objet, de l'événement, de la théorie quelconques.L'analyse de ces caractères paradoxaux, ainsi que des notions d'objet et d'événement, montre que la Physico‐mathématique retrouve son unité de fondements si l'on substitue à la Logique bivalente, la Logique trivalente de la Composition , ou la Logique des Attitudes qui la généralise . Cette revision des notions fondamentales à laquelle la science en progrès s'oblige elle‐měme est une expérience de l'idonéisme en action.ZusammenfassungDie Wahrscheinlichkeit zeigt in der klassischen Physik paradoxe Züge; obwohl sie vom Stande des Wissens abhängt und nur über eine grosse Anzahl von Versuchen Auskünfte gibt, scheint sie als eine objektive Eigenschaft des Einzelereignisses definiert zu sein; sie nimmt an, dass gewisse Fragen mit » vielleicht « beantwortet werden müssen, obgleich die klassische Logik keine andere Antwort als » ja « oder » nein « zulässt. Durch die Mikrophysik nutzbar gemacht, durchbricht sie die Einheit der physikalisch‐mathematischen Fundamente, die sich kundtat in der bivalenten Logik, verstanden als Theorie des beliebigen Objektes, des beliebigen Ereignisses, der beliebigen Theorie. Die Analyse dieser paradoxen Züge, sowie der Begriffe des Objektes und des Ereignisses zeigt, dass Mathematik und Physik ihre einheitlichen Grundlagen wiederfinden, wenn man die bivalente Logik durch die trivalente der Komposition ersetzt oder durch die Logik der Einstellungen , welche sie verallgemeinert . Diese Revision der grundlegenden Begriffe, zu der sich die fortschrittliche Wissenschaft selbst verpflichtet, ist ein Beispiel des in die Tat umgesetzten Idoneismus.Probability shows paradoxical characteristics in classical physics; although dependent upon a state of knowledge, and yielding information only as the total result of numerous trials, it seems nevertheless to be definable as an objective characteristic of the isolated event; it assumes that one must reply » perhaps « to certain questions, whilst classical logic would allow no answer but » yes « or » no «. When used by micro‐physics, it breaks the unity of the physico‐mathematical foundations which became apparent in bivalent logic, in its conception as a theory of any object, any event or any theory.Analysis of these paradoxical characteristics and of the concepts » object « and » event « shows physics and mathematics regain their fundamental unity if bivalent logic is replaced by the trivalent logic of synthesis or the logic of attitudes, which generalises it . This revision of fundamental concepts which progressive science brings upon itself, is an example of the doctrine of suitability in action. (shrink)

Lebenswelt und Physik stehen nicht nur unverkennbar miteinander in Beziehung, sondern prägen jeweils auch eigenständig die Struktur moderner Gesellschaften. Während die Lebenswelt mit ihrem traditionellen Bezug auf unmittelbare Wahrnehmungs- und Handlungsformen immer noch die lokale Reproduktion bestimmt, begründen physikalische Verfahren und Erkenntnisse die materiellen Techniken der globalisierten Zivilisation. Den Abstand von Lebenswelt und Physik, wie die zwischen ihnen bestehenden Beziehungen, möchte ich an den für sie typischen Raumbegriffen erläutern. Meine These ist, dass jedenfalls einige Raumbegriffe der modernen (...) class='Hi'>Physik den lebensweltlichen Raumbegriffen entgegengesetzt sind. Mein Beispiel werden Aspekte des Raumbegriffes sein, die sich an Interpretationen der Quantenmechanik anschließen. Ich möchte außerdem zeigen, dass andere physikalische Raumbegriffe der Lebenswelt näher stehen als die der Quantenmechanik. Als Beispiel für einen solchen Begriff werde ich den klassischen und immer noch aktuellen aus Isaac Newtons Mechanik diskutieren. Grob gesprochen, steht Newtons Raumvorstellung zwischen der modernen physikalischen und der lebensweltlichen Raumvorstellung. (shrink)

Walter Seitters Physik der Medien setzt Gedanken seiner Aufsatzsammlung Physik des Daseins. Bausteine zu einer Philosophie der Erscheinungen fort und begründet theoretisch und systematisch eine sog. „philosophische Physik“. Ein weiterer Ausgangspunkt ist die folgende mehrfache Polemik: Seitter setzt nämlich der wissenschaftlichen Physik „seine“ Physik entgegen, die – in klassischer philosophischer Tradition – darauf abzielt, „ein eigenes Staunen aufrechtzuerhalten“, und „mit Augenschein und Umgangssprache“ arbeitet. Ein solcher Physikbegriff – die Beschreibung von sinnlichen Phänomenen aufgrund eigener Wahrnehmung (...) – knüpft ausdrücklich an Aristoteles an, aber nähert sich auch der Phänomenologie. (shrink)

Der Verzicht auf absolut gültige Erkenntnis, heute in den Naturwissenschaften beinahe schon selbstverständlich, ist erst jüngeren Datums. Noch im vergangenen Jahrhundert zweifelte die experimentelle Forschung kaum an der vollkommenen Begreifbarkeit der Welt. Diesen Wandel zu erkunden und aufzuzeigen ist Thema der vorliegenden Studie. Der erste Teil präsentiert verschiedene Typen neuzeitlicher und moderner Wissenschaftsauffassungen von Galilei über Newton bis hin zu Kant. Im zweiten Teil werden Entwicklung und Wandel der Wissenschafts- und Naturauffassung bei Helmholtz (1821-1895) erstmals mittels detaillierter Textanalysen einer umfassenden (...) Rekonstruktion unterzogen. Die Relativierung des Wahrheitsanspruchs erlaubt es Helmholtz, seine Naturauffassung trotz der antimechanistischen Kritik innerhalb der Physik, die im letzten Viertel des vergangenen Jahrhunderts laut wurde, als Hypothese aufrechtzuerhalten. Auch gewährt die Studie eine neue Sichtweise des Verhältnisses zwischen Helmholtz und Kant, das in der Vergangenheit kontroverse Beurteilungen erfuhr. (shrink)

Ist wirklich unser ganzes Leben vorausbestimmtes, un entrinnbares Schicksal? Oder gibt es außer der mechanischen naturwissenschaftlichen Vorstellung der Welt noch eine andere Wirklichkeit, ohne daß ein unlösbarer Konflikt beider Anschauungsweisen besteht, die im Grunde jeden Menschen, den naiven wie den gelehrtesten, angehen. Der Widerspruch besteht, daß wir uns in unserem Denken und Handeln frei fühlen und damit eine Verantwortung tragen, auch wenn wir von unserem erbbedingten Charakter und von unserem Erleben beeinflußt sind, aber doch nicht unent rinnbar an diese uns (...) versklavt scheinen. Andererseits lehrt die klassische gesamte Naturwissenschaft, daß ganz wie in der klassischen Physik eine strenge, nirgends durchbrochene Kausalität uns beherrscht. Dieser Widerspruch hat mich seit meiner Jugend nie zur Ruhe kommen lassen. Das Weltbild des Arztes mußte seit dem Altertum an der Heilbestrebung des Organismus festhalten und mußte an die rettende Tat im ärztlichen Berufe glauben. Die klassische Physik schon im Altertum, aber noch weit bewußter seit der Renaissance, lehrt dogmatisch den mechanischen Ablauf allen Geschehens unter der absoluten Herrschaft des Kausal gesetzes. Immer, wenn ich mich wissenschaftlich zu äußern hatte, bin ich dem Weltbild des Arztes gefolgt, das soll gerade diese Schrift aufzeigen. Seit aber einige Physiker von der "klassischen" Physik zu einer "modernen" Physik üb- v gegangen sind, scheint zum erstenmal das fast zweieinhalb Jahrtausende währende Rätsel lösbar. (shrink)

Die erste systematische Schrift, die Ernst Cassirer veröffentlicht hat, ist das Buch »Substanzbegriff und Funktionsbegriff« von 1910, in dem er sich mit dem Problem der mathematischen und naturwissenschaftlichen Begriffsbildung auseinandersetzt. Als »Faktum« legte er den damaligen Stand der Wissenschaft zugrunde, der das klassische System der Physik noch als unbestritten galt. Mit den Fortschritten der Wissenschaften, in diesem Fall der Entwicklung der theoretischen Physik, muss die Erkenntniskritik Schritt halten. Und so drängten sich im Laufe der Zeit neue Fragen (...) auf, die der philosophischen Behandlung bedurften. Aus dieser Motivation heraus veröffentlichte Cassirer 1920 die Schrift »Zur Einsteinschen Relativitätstheorie« (ECW Bd. 10), in der er sich mit der Um- und Neubildung der modernen Physik durch die allgemeine und spezielle Relativitätstheorie beschäftigt. Um dem philosophischen Ideal der methodischen Analyse und erkenntniskritischen Grundlegung gerecht zu werden, ergab sich jedoch die Notwendigkeit, auch die Auswirkungen der Quantentheorie in die Reflexion mit einzubeziehen. Den historischen Ursachen und systematischen Gründen der Sprengkraft, die die Quantentheorie auf dem ganzen Gebiet der Physik entwickelte, geht Cassirer in der Schrift »Determinismus und Indeterminismus in der modernen Physik« nach, die er 1936 abschließt. (shrink)

The author investigates which methods of naming objects are possible in the language of physics on the basis of the real physical conditions and to which extend objects thereby can be identified. It is shown that in the language of classical physics naming by designation is always possible. But this implies only the temporal identity of objects, not the "trans - world" - identity, which is important for modalities. In the language of quantum physics naming by (...) designation is no longer applicable to individuals but only to classes of equivalent objects. And for these classes temporal identity as well as the "trans - world" - identity can be produced, which means that an adequate semantics can be specified for the concept of possibility necessary in this language. (shrink)

The present book is devoted to the question of what the goal of physics is. The essential result of this is the rejection of traditional proposals for such a goal in favour of a new proposal. In both the rejection of the older proposal for a goal and the endorsement of the new one, I rely on a common practice in physics - the practice of idealisation. Traditional proposals for goals must be abandoned if they cannot explain this (...) practice; my own proposal is supported by the fact that it can be shown to explain the practice of idealisation. There is a close connection between the goal of physics and some positions in the philosophy of science. van Fraassen has drawn attention to this in his The Scientific Image. If such a connection between the question of the goal and various positions in the philosophy of science exists, the result of the investigation into the goal of physics can be used to discuss positions such as empiricism, constructivism and scientific realism. This programme will be carried out in the following steps. Chapter 1 will first clarify in what sense physics can be said to have a goal. Criteria will be worked out, which an adequate explication of the goal of physics should satisfy. It will be shown that candidates for the goal of physics should be able to explain why typical actions essential to physics are carried out in the way that characterises them: They must be recognisable as means to a proposed end. In addition, various proposals for the goal of physics will be presented, and the relationship of these proposals to the philosophy of science positions of empiricism, constructivism and scientific realism will be examined. In Chapter 2, for selected, constitutive modes of action in physics - namely for idealisations – it will be investigated to what extent they can be explained by the proposed target candidates. It will be shown, firstly, that the traditional formulations of the goal of physics with respect to a particular class of of idealisations have only limited explanatory value, and secondly, that the goal of a unified description of physical systems description of physical systems makes this practice understandable. In Chapter 3 it will be shown that a second class of idealising measures - especially abstractions, but also certain experimental procedures - also cannot be made comprehensible by traditional goal ascriptions. Moreover, they cannot be integrated into a picture of theory construction which presupposes the classical, empiricist concept of the law of nature as the as the basis for an understanding of physics. I will argue that it makes sense to define natural laws as the ascription of as the attribution of dispositions to physical systems, i. e. systems, i.e. as statements about the way in which physical systems systems behave under very specific circumstances, namely when they are isolated. Such a conception allows us to present a candidate target that is able to explain all of the idealisation measures under investigation. Thus, it satisfies the condition that a candidate for the goal of physics must fulfil. The goal of physics, it will be asserted, is, is to give a unified description of the dispositions of physical systems. Now, since the traditional proposed goals, which turn out to be inadequate, are closely related to scientific realism, empiricism and constructivism, a re-evaluation of these positions becomes necessary. This will be done in chapter 4. be done. (shrink)

Two seemingly contradictory tendencies have accompanied the development of the natural sciences in the past 150 years. On the one hand, the natural sciences have been instrumental in effecting a thoroughgoing transformation of social structures and have made a permanent impact on the conceptual world of human beings. This historical period has, on the other hand, also brought to light the merely hypothetical validity of scientific knowledge. As late as the middle of the 19th century the truth-pathos in the natural (...) sciences was still unbroken. Yet in the succeeding years these claims to certain knowledge underwent a fundamental crisis. For scientists today, of course, the fact that their knowledge can possess only relative validity is a matter of self-evidence. The present analysis investigates the early phase of this fundamental change in the concept of science through an examination of Hermann von Helmholtz's conception of science and his mechanistic interpretation of nature. Helmholtz (1821-1894) was one of the most important natural scientists in Germany. The development of this thoughts offers an impressive but, until now, relatively little considered report from the field of the experimental sciences chronicling the erosion of certainty. (shrink)

These two volumes form a full portrait of Hans Reichenbach, from the school boy and university student to the maturing and creative scholar, who was as well an immensely devoted teacher and a gifted popular writer and speaker on science and philosophy. We selected the articles for several reasons. Many of them have not pre viously been available in English; many are out of print, either in English or in German; some, especially the early ones, have been little known, and (...) deal with subject-matters other than philosophy of science. The genesis and evolu tion of Reichenbach's ideas appeared to be of deep interest, and so we in cluded papers from four decades, despite occasional redundancy. We were, for example, pleased to include his extensive review article from the encyclo pedic Handbuch der Physik of 1929 on 'The Aims and Methods of Physical Knowledge', written at a time of creative collaboration between Reichenbach's Berlin group and the Vienna Circle of Schlick and Carnap. Reichenbach was a pioneer, opening new pathways to the solution of age-old problems in many fields: space, time, causality, induction and probability - philosophical analysis and interpretation of classical physics, relativity and quantum physics - logic, language, ethics, scientific explanation and methodology, critical appreciation and reconstruction of past metaphysical thinkers and scientists from Plato to Leibniz and Kant. Indeed, his own philosophical journey was initiated by his passage from Kant to anti-Kant. (shrink)

This paper differs from any previous view in discussing quantum pure possibilities as individuals, existing independently of any observer or mind. These pure possibilities are also absolutely independent of any metaphysical or logical view that endorses the notion of possible worlds. In my view, the relationship between quantum possibilities and classical physical reality is not between reality as such, as it is in itself, and its phenomena. It is rather between fundamental or primary reality, consisting of quantum pure possibilities, (...) on the one hand, and its actualization in what classical physics has discovered so far, on the other. As individual pure possibilities, quantum entities must be, at least ontologically, distinct and different from one another, regardless of the epistemological standing of quantum physics. Hence, quantum metaphysics is committed to the principle of the identity of indiscernibles. Finally, I analyze the two-slit experiment, interference, and entanglement in the light of my approach. (shrink)

In conclusion, then, we have tried to show that Drug actions can be predicted and described best on a probabilistic basis and information theory offers a suitable framework for such predictions. Drug actions are fundamentally of the all-or-none type involving the choice between two alternatives and these choises are therefore measurable by binary digits. Drug actions are not absolutely but only relatively specific and such specificity can be measured on the basis of information theory by an array of suitable correlation (...) data. Synergisms and antagonisms can best be explained and measured by considering them as intersymbol influences in communications. A theory of drug action based on information theory is more comprehensive and simpler than any theory based on the principles of classical physics and chemistry.However, these conclusions provide only the general basis for future detailed studies of various drug groups which will probably require the collaboration of chemists and pharmacologists as well as biological mathematicians to produce practical results.Der Verfasser bespricht die verschiedenen Probleme der Drogenwirkung und der Reizwirkung im allgemeinen und kommt zu den folgenden Schlussfolgerungen: Die Wirkung der Drogen kann am besten auf Grundlage der Wahrscheinlichkeitstheorie vorhergesagt und beschrieben werden und die mathematische Informationstheorie bietet einen befriedigenden Rahmen für solche Voraussagungen. Drogenwirkungen beruhen im Grunde genommen auf dem „Alles oder Nichts Prinzip”, d.h. sie beruhen auf einer Wahl zwischen zwei Alternativen und diese Wahlen sind als Logarithmen mit der Basis 2 messbar. Drogenwirkungen sind nicht absolut sondern nur relativ spezifisch und diese SpezifizitÄt kann auf Grundlage der Informationstheorie durch eine Matrize gernessen werden die eine Anordnung passender Korrelationsdaten enthÄlt. Synergismen und Antagonismen zwischen verschiedenen Substanzen können am besten dadurch erklÄrt und gemessen werden, dass man sie als gegenseitige Beeinflussung zwischen den eine Mitteilung bildenden Symbolen auffasst. Eine Theorie der Drogenwirkung auf der Informationstheorie basiert, ist umfassender und einfacher als irgend eine andere der die Prinzipien der klassischen Physik und Chemie zugrunde liegen.Jedoch bieten diese Schlussfolgerungen nur die allgemeine Grundlage für zukünftige detaillierte Studien der verschiedenen Drogenklassen und diese Studien werden die Mitarbeit der Chemiker, der Pharmakologen und der mathematisch eingestellten Biologen erfordern.L'auteur discute les divers aspects de l'action des drogues et des stimulus en général et arrive aux conclusions suivantes: La meilleure manière de prédire et de décrire l'action des drogues est celle qui se base sur la théorie des probabilités, et la théorie mathématique des informations et communications offre un cadre satisfaisant pour de telles prédictions. L'action des drogues est essentiellement du type „tout ou rien”, c'es-à-dire qu'un choix entre deux alternatives prend place et ces choix peuvent Être mesurés par des digits binaires. L'action des drogues est charactérisée non pas par une specificité absolue mais seulement relative et cette specificité peut Être mesurée sur base de la théorie des informations par une matrice contenant des données corrélatives convenables. Les synergismes et les antagonismes des substances agissant simultanément peuvent Être expliqués et mesurés en les considérant comme des influences, existantes entre les symboles constituant une communication. Une théorie pharmacodynamique basée sur la théorie des informations est plus compréhensive et plus simple qu'une théorie basée sur les principes de la physique et de la chimie classiques.Toutefois, ces conclusions ne fournissent que la base générale pour des études futures détaillées des diverses classes de substances pharmacologiques, et ces études demanderont la collaboration des chimistes, des pharmacologistes ainsi que des biologistes mathématiciens. (shrink)

In 1912, Henri Poincaré published an argument which apparently shows that the hypothesis of quanta is both necessary and sufficient for the truth of Planck''s experimentally corroborated law describing the spectral distribution of radiant energy in a black body. In a recent paper, John Norton has reaffirmed the authority of Poincarés argument, setting it up as a paradigm case in which empirical data can be used to definitively rule out theoretical competitors to a given theoretical hypothesis. My goal is to (...) dispute Norton ''s claim that there is no theoretical underdetermination problem arising between classical physics and early quantum theory. The strategy I use in defending my view is to adopt a suggestion made by Jarrett Leplin and Larry Laudan on how to assess the relative merits of competing theoretical alternatives, where each alternative has an equal capacity to save the phenomena. In the course of the paper, I distinguish between two branches of classical physics: classical mechanics and classical electromagnetism. The former is claimed by Norton and Poincaré to be determinately ruled out by the black body evidence; and it is the former that I argue is compatible with this evidence. (shrink)

A critical re-examination of the history of the concepts of space (including spacetime of general relativity and relativistic quantum field theory) reveals a basic ontological elusiveness of spatial extension, while, at the same time, highlighting the fact that its epistemic primacy seems to be unavoidably imposed on us (as stated by A.Einstein “giving up the extensional continuum … is like to breathe in airless space”). On the other hand, Planck’s discovery of the atomization of action leads to the fundamental recognition (...) of an ontology of non-spatial, abstract entities (Quine) for the quantum level of reality (QT), as distinguished from the necessarily spatio-temporal, experimental revelations (measurements). The elementary quantum act (measured by Planck’s constant) has neither duration nor extension, and any genuinely quantum process literally does not belong in the Raum and time of our experience. As Heisenberg stresses: “Während also die klassische Physik ein objectives Geschehen in Raum and Zeit zum Gegenstand hat, für dessen Existenz seine Beobachtung völlig irrelevant war, behandelt die Quantentheorie Vorgänge, die sozusagen nur in den Momenten der Beobachtung als raumzeitliche Phänomene aufleuchten, und über die in der zwischenzeit anschaulische physikalische Aussagen sinloss sind”. An admittedly speculative, hazardous conjecture is then advanced concerning the relation of such quantum ontology with the role of the pre-phenomenal continuum (Husserl) in the perception of macroscopically distinguishable objects in the Raum and time of our experience. Although rather venturesome, it brings together important philosophical issues. Coherently with recent general results in works on the foundations of QT, it is assumed that the linearity of quantum dynamical evolution does not apply to the central nervous system of living beings at a certain level of the evolutionary ramification and at the pre-conscious stage of subjectivity. Accordingly, corresponding to the onset of a non-linear dynamic evolution, a ‘primary spatial’ reduction is ‘continually’ taking place, thereby constituting the neural precondition for the experience of distinguishable macroscopic objects in the continuous spatial extension. While preventing the theoretically possible quantum superpositions of macroscopic objects from being perceivable by living beings, the ‘primary reduction’ has no effect on the standard processes concerning quantum level entities involved in laboratory man-made experiments. In this connection, an experimental check which might falsify the conjecture is briefly discussed. The approach suggested here, if sound, leads to a naturalization of that part of Kant’s Transcendental Aesthetics than can survive the Euclidean catastrophe. According to such naturalized transcendentalism, “space can well be transcendental without the axioms being so”, in agreement with a well-known statement by Boltzman. Finally, as far as QT is concerned, the conjecture entails that a scheme for quantum measurement of the von Neumann type cannot even ‘leave the ground’, vindicating Bohr’s viewpoint. A quantum theory of measurement, in a proper sense, turns out to be unnecessary and in fact impossible. (shrink)

An informal theory is set forth of relations between abstract entities, includingcolors, physical quantities, times, andplaces in space, and the concrete things thathave them, or areat orin them, based on the assumption that there are close analogies between these relations and relations between abstractsets and the concrete things that aremembers of them. It is suggested that even standard scientific usage of these abstractions presupposes principles that are analogous to postulates of abstraction, identity, and other fundamental principles of set theory. Also (...) discussed is the significance of important disanalogies between sets and physical abstractions, including especiallymodal andtemporal aspects of physical abstractions, which is related to the problem of the characterizingconstancy, of colors, physical attributes, and locations in space. (shrink)

SummaryThe history of quantum physics has been deeply conditioned by the change in scientific practice as a social activity during the past fifty years. As a result the theory has not been allowed full maturing; both its formal and empirical advances have not resulted in a comparable conceptual progress. The recasting of quantum theory thus appears as an epistemological necessity. One of the main aspects of this process is to clear quantum theory from its persisting classical connections in (...) order to endow it with an autonomous and intrinsic status. Problems related to the foundations, description, interpretation and approximations of quantum theory are considered in turn, and various recent works are reviewed which contribute to the proposed endeavour.RésuméL'histoire de la théorie quantique a été fortement conditionnée par les changements intervenus au cours des cinquante dernières années dans la pratique scientifique en tant qu'activité sociale. La théorie en conséquence n'a pu atteindre sa pleine maturité et ses développements à la fois formels et empiriques n'ont pas conduit à des progrès conceptuels comparables. La refonte de la théorie quantique apparaît ainsi comme une nécessitéépistémologique. L'un des principaux aspects de ce processus consiste à débarrasser la théorie quantique de ses persistantes attaches classiques, de façon à lui conférer un statut autonome et intrinsèque. On considère ici tour à tour les problèmes de fondements, de terminologie, d'interprétation et de limites, de la théorie quantique, tout en passant en revue divers travaux récents contribuant à l'entreprise proposée.ZusammenfassungDie Geschichte der Quantenphysik ist in entscheidender Weise durch die Veränderungen, die in den letzten fünfzig Jahren in der wissenschaftlichen Praxis als einer sozialen Tätigkeit eingetreten sind, bestimmt worden. Die Theorie hat deshalb ihre volle Reife nicht erlangen können; ihre zugleich formalen und empirischen Entfaltungen haben nicht zu einem entsprechenden begrifflichen Fortschritt geführt. Eine Umgestaltung der Quantentheorie muss daher als ein erkenntnistheoretisches Desiderat betrachtet werden. Einer der wichtigsten Aspekte eines derartigen Unterfangens wird darin bestehen, die Theorie von ihren hartnäckigen Bindungen an klassische Begriffe zu befreien, um ihr einen eigenständigen und autonomen Status zu verleihen. Es werden die Probleme der Begründung, der Terminologie, der Interpretation und der Grenzen der Quantentheorie diskutiert, indem auch verschiedene kürzlich erschienene Arbeiten, die sich auf das vorgeschlagene Unternehmen beziehen, berücksichtigt werden. (shrink)

In this paper we analyse the approach to interpreting atomic spectra in the framework of classical physics from the discovery of the electron in 1897 to Bohr's atomic model of 1913. Taken as a whole, efforts in this direction are part of a remarkable intellectual endeavour in which the classical theoretical framework seems to have been exploited to its full potential. By demonstrating the limits and weaknesses of classical physics in solving the problem of spectral (...) emissions, these attempts opened the way to a complete break from traditional thought and the introduction of the new quantum ideas. (shrink)

Here I explore a novel no-collapse interpretation of quantum mechanics that combines aspects of two familiar and well-developed alternatives, Bohmian mechanics and the many-worlds interpretation. Despite reproducing the empirical predictions of quantum mechanics, the theory looks surprisingly classical. All there is at the fundamental level are particles interacting via Newtonian forces. There is no wave function. However, there are many worlds.

ABSTRACT. The objectivity of physics has been called into question by social theorists, Kuhnian relativists, and by anomalous aspects of quantum mechanics. Here we focus on one neglected background issue, the categorical structure of the language of classical physics. The first half is an historical overview of the formation of the language of classical physics, beginning with Aristotle's Categories and the novel idea of the quantity of a quality introduced by medieval Aristotelians. Descartes and Newton (...) at-tempted to put the new mechanics on an ontological foundation of atomism. Euler was the pivotal figure in basing mechanics on a macroscopic concept of matter. The second scientific revolution, led by Laplace, took mechanics as foundational and attempted to fit the Baconian sciences into a framework of atomistic mechanism. This protracted effort had the unintended effect of supplying an informal unification of physics in a mixture of ordinary language and mechanistic terms. The second half treats LCP as a linguistic para-site that can attach itself to any language and effect mutations in the host without chang-ing its essential form. This puts LCP in the context of a language of discourse and sug-gests that philosophers should concentrate more on the dialog between experimenters and theoreticians and less on analyses of theories. This orientation supplies a basis for treating objectivity. (shrink)

Substantivalism is the view that space exists in addition to any material bodies situated within it. Relationalism is the opposing view that there is no such thing as space; there are just material bodies, spatially related to one another. This paper assesses this issue in the context of classical physics. It starts by describing the bucket argument for substantivalism. It then turns to anti-substantivalist arguments, including Leibniz's classic arguments and their contemporary reincarnation under the guise of ‘symmetry’. It (...) argues that these anti-substantivalist arguments are stronger than is often acknowledged. (shrink)

The reaction of Italian physicists to the innovations of the ‘new physics’ has been studied by analysing their scientific production and their textbooks. Their stand appears to have been the result of several components: absence or weakness of lines of research in the last three decades of the nineteenth century ; firm attachment to the conceptual and philosophical foundations of classical mechanics; and hostility to the quantization of energy. The consequence has been a widening of the gap between (...) the research done in Italy and the main lines of development of the discipline. (shrink)

The concept of inertial frame of reference in classical physics and special theory of relativity is analysed. It has been shown that this fundamental concept of physics is not clear enough. A definition of inertial frame of reference is proposed which expresses its key inherent property. The definition is operational and powerful. Many other properties of inertial frames follow from the definition, or it makes them plausible. In particular, the definition shows why physical laws obey space and (...) time symmetries and the principle of relativity, it resolves the problem of clock synchronization and the role of light in it, as well as the problem of the geometry of inertial frames. (shrink)

In summary, then, I have presented a program for analysis of physical causal statements in terms of the following metaphysical primitives: space (made up of ordered points), time (also ordered and punctiliar), causal density, haecceity and causal necessity. These can be ‘read off’ the theories in question. I claim that theevent-singular cases are crucial, and that other cases can be reduced to this via set theory and (causal) modal logic. I have given several examples of this sort of translation and (...) a rough indication of how more complicated cases could be dealt with. (shrink)

Pierre Duhem (1861-1916) gehörte zu jenen Wissenschaftlern, die im ausgehenden 19. Jahrhundert an der Umbildung der Physik im großen Stil arbeiteten und damit an der Vorbereitung der wissenschaftlichen Revolution beteiligt waren, die durch Planck und Einstein herbeigeführt wurde. Duhems klassisches Werk der modernen Wissenschaftstheorie hat auf die Entwicklung des logischen Empirismus nachhaltigen Einfluß ausgeübt. Das von Duhem beigezogene reichhaltige Material und seine konzisen Fallstudien stellen eine Fundgrube für jeden dar, der sich ernsthaft mit Wissenschaftstheorie beschäftigt.

Various fault modes of determinism in classical physics are outlined. It is shown how quantum mechanics can cure some forms of classical indeterminism. †To contact the author, please write to: Department of HPS, University of Pittsburgh, 1017 Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh, PA 15260; e‐mail: jearman@pitt.edu.

Measurement is said to be the basis of exact sciences as the process of assigning numbers to matter (things or their attributes), thus making it possible to apply the mathematically formulated laws of nature to the empirical world. Mathematics and empiria are best accorded to each other in laboratory experiments which function as what Nancy Cartwright calls nomological machine: an arrangement generating (mathematical) regularities. On the basis of accounts of measurement errors and uncertainties, I will argue for two claims: 1) (...) Both fundamental laws of physics, corresponding to ideal nomological machine, and phenomenological laws, corresponding to material nomological machine, lie, being highly idealised relative to the empirical reality; and also laboratory measurement data do not describe properties inherent to the world independently of human understanding of it. 2) Therefore the naive, representational view of measurement and experimentation should be replaced with a more pragmatic or practice-based view. (shrink)

The analysis of this article is entirely within classical physics. Any attempt to describe nature within classical physics requires the presence of Lorentz-invariant classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation so as to account for the Casimir forces between parallel conducting plates at low temperatures. Furthermore, conformal symmetry carries solutions of Maxwell’s equations into solutions. In an inertial frame, conformal symmetry leaves zero-point radiation invariant and does not connect it to non-zero-temperature; time-dilating conformal transformations carry the Lorentz-invariant zero-point (...) radiation spectrum into zero-point radiation and carry the thermal radiation spectrum at non-zero temperature into thermal radiation at a different non-zero temperature. However, in a non-inertial frame, a time-dilating conformal transformation carries classical zero-point radiation into thermal radiation at a finite non-zero-temperature. By taking the no-acceleration limit, one can obtain the Planck radiation spectrum for blackbody radiation in an inertial frame from the thermal radiation spectrum in an accelerating frame. Here this connection between zero-point radiation and thermal radiation is illustrated for a scalar radiation field in a Rindler frame undergoing relativistic uniform proper acceleration through flat spacetime in two spacetime dimensions. The analysis indicates that the Planck radiation spectrum for thermal radiation follows from zero-point radiation and the structure of relativistic spacetime in classical physics. (shrink)

Indeterminism of quantum mechanics is considered as an immediate corollary from the theorems about absence of hidden variables in it, and first of all, the Kochen – Specker theorem. The base postulate of quantum mechanics formulated by Niels Bohr that it studies the system of an investigated microscopic quantum entity and the macroscopic apparatus described by the smooth equations of classical mechanics by the readings of the latter implies as a necessary condition of quantum mechanics the absence of hidden (...) variables, and thus, quantum indeterminism. Consequently, the objectivity of quantum mechanics and even its possibility and ability to study its objects as they are by themselves imply quantum indeterminism. The so-called free-will theorems in quantum mechanics elucidate that the “valuable commodity” of free will is not a privilege of the experimenters and human beings, but it is shared by anything in the physical universe once the experimenter is granted to possess free will. The analogical idea, that e.g. an electron might possess free will to “decide” what to do, scandalized Einstein forced him to exclaim (in a letter to Max Born in 2016) that he would be а shoemaker or croupier rather than a physicist if this was true. Anyway, many experiments confirmed the absence of hidden variables and thus quantum indeterminism in virtue of the objectivity and completeness of quantum mechanics. Once quantum mechanics is complete and thus an objective science, one can ask what this would mean in relation to classical physics and its objectivity. In fact, it divides disjunctively what possesses free will from what does not. Properly, all physical objects belong to the latter area according to it, and their “behavior” is necessary and deterministic. All possible decisions, on the contrary, are concentrated in the experimenters (or human beings at all), i.e. in the former domain not intersecting the latter. One may say that the cost of the determinism and unambiguous laws of classical physics, is the indeterminism and free will of the experimenters and researchers (human beings) therefore necessarily being out of the scope and objectivity of classical physics. This is meant as the “deterministic subjectivity of classical physics” opposed to the “indeterminist objectivity of quantum mechanics”. (shrink)

I explain in what sense the structure of space and time is probably vague or indefinite, a notion I define. This leads to the mathematical representation of location in space and time by a vague interval. From this, a principle of complementary inaccuracy between spatial location and velocity is derived, and its relation to the Uncertainty Principle discussed. In addition, even if the laws of nature are deterministic, the behaviour of systems will be random to some degree. These and other (...) considerations draw classical physics closer to Quantum Mechanics. An arrow of entropy is also derived, given an arrow of time. Lastly, chaos is given an additional, objective meaning. (shrink)

In this paper, I examine the claim that any physical theory will have an extremely limited domain of application because 1) we have to use distinct theories to model different situations in the world and 2) no theory has enough textbook models to handle anything beyond a highly simplified situation. Against the first claim, I show that many examples used to bolster it are actually instances of application of the very same classical theory rather than disjoint theories. Thus, there (...) is a hidden unity to the world of classical physics that is usually overlooked (by, for example, Nancy Cartwright who argues for the claims above). Against the second claim, I show that the practice of classical physics involves an enormous (infinite) number of models the use of which cannot be written off as merely ad hoc. Thus, although classical physics cannot, of course, model every situation in nature, it has a much larger domain than some would have us believe. (shrink)

To make out in what way Einstein’s manifold 1905 ‘annus mirabilis’ writings hang together one has to take into consideration Einstein’s strive for unity evinced in his persistent attempts to reconcile the basic research traditions of classical physics. Light quanta hypothesis and special theory of relativity turn out to be the contours of a more profound design, mere milestones of implementation of maxwellian electrodynamics, statistical mechanics and thermodynamics reconciliation programme. The conception of luminiferous ether was an insurmountable obstacle (...) for Einstein’s statistical thermodynamics in which the leading role was played by the light quanta paper. In his critical stand against the entrenched research traditions of classical physics Einstein was apparently influenced by David Hume and Ernst Mach. However, when related to creative momenta, Einstein’s 1905 unificationist modus operandi was drawn upon Mach’s principle of economy of thought taken in the context of his ‘instinctive knowledge’ doctrine and with promising inclinations of Kantian epistemology presuming the coincidence of both constructing theory and integrating intuition of Principle. (shrink)

Physicists have suggested what I call symmetry fundamentalism: the view that symmetries are fundamental aspects of physical reality and that these aspects are more fundamental than what one might ordinarily think of as the fundamental building blocks of the world, such as elementary particles. The goal of this paper is to develop an ontology for classical particle mechanics that provides a precise instance of symmetry fundamentalism.

Starting from logical structures of classical and quantum mechanics we reconstruct the logic of so-called no-signaling theories, where the correlations among subsystems of a composite system are restricted only by a simplest form of causality forbidding an instantaneous communication. Although such theories are, as it seems, irrelevant for the description of physical reality, they are helpful in understanding the relevance of quantum mechanics. The logical structure of each theory has an epistemological flavor, as it is based on analysis of (...) possible results of experiments. In this note we emphasize that not only logical structures of classical, quantum and no-signaling theory may be treated on the same ground but it is also possible to give to all of them a common ontological basis by constructing a “phase space” in all cases. In non-classical cases the phase space is not a set, as in classical theory, but a more general object obtained by means of category theory, but conceptually it plays the same role as the phase space in classical physics. (shrink)

The subject of this study is materialism, understood in the broadest sense of this concept: both as a philosophical doctrine and as a way of life corresponding to a certain worldview position. The aim is to clarify the objective role of this worldview position in various fields of human activity. At the center of the research is the question of the essence of materialistic ideas about the world hiding behind the sensually given reality to man. The study consists of two (...) parts, published in separate articles. The first part is devoted to the origins of the materialistic worldview and the main question of philosophy, and in this, its second part, the question of the philosophical problems of non-classical physics is considered, the root of these problems is revealed, a comparative worldview analysis of the basic concepts of classical and non-classical physics is carried out and the overall result of the research is summarized. The methodology of this research is the principle of materialistic monism, according to which absolutely all phenomena of the human-cognizable world can be based only on something material, "influencing". The general conclusions of this study are as follows: the roots of the materialistic worldview go back to the origins of life, to such a condition of successful vital activity of living beings, which is inherently ideological; this condition, called by the author the Main Question of Life, is the historical forerunner of the Main Question of Philosophy; the worldview position, equivalent to the materialistic solution of the OVF, is inherent in the vital activity of absolutely all living beings; all people in their daily and practical activities are born materialists. In addition, this study clarifies the idea of the essence of materialistic teaching; shows the exclusivity of the materialistic worldview as the only true worldview; provides a refined definition of the concept of matter; proves the need to shift the "center of gravity" of modern materialistic teaching from dialectics to the principle of materialistic monism; formulates the missing requirement for scientific theories to ensure their ideological viability; shows the ideological inconsistency the main ideas of the new, non-classical physics. (shrink)

In this paper we introduce a variational principle from which the fundamental equations of classical physics can be deduced. This principle permits a sort of unification of the gravitational and the electromagnetic fields. The basic point of this variational principle is that the world-line of a material point is parametrized by a parameter a which carries some physical information, namely it is related to the rest mass and to the charge. In particular, the (inertial) rest mass will not (...) be a property of a material point, but it will be a constant of the motion which is determined by the initial conditions. In this framework the equality between the inertial and gravitational mass can be deduced. (shrink)