About this topic
Summary This is a catch-all category for work on the interpretation of quantum mechanics which does not fall naturally into the other categories. 
Key works Perhaps the most prominent proposal in this category is the 'quantum Bayesianism' of Caves et al 2007, which treats quantum states as states of information.
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  1. The Ontic Probability Interpretation of Quantum Theory – Part IV: How to Complete Special Relativity and Merge it with Quantum Theory.Felix Alba-Juez - manuscript
    We have ignored for a century that the incompleteness of Quantum Theory (QT) is inseparable from the incompleteness of Special Relativity (RT). In this article, I claim that the latter has been gravely incomplete vis à vis the former from 1927 until today. But completing RT in the light of QT is not as simple as merely postulating nonlocality and stochasticity as “elements of reality” (which is de facto done by most physicists and pragmatic philosophers); otherwise, RT would not still (...)
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  2. Kantian and Neo-Kantian First Principles for Physical and Metaphysical Cognition.Michael E. Cuffaro - manuscript
    I argue that Immanuel Kant's critical philosophy—in particular the doctrine of transcendental idealism which grounds it—is best understood as an `epistemic' or `metaphilosophical' doctrine. As such it aims to show how one may engage in the natural sciences and in metaphysics under the restriction that certain conditions are imposed on our cognition of objects. Underlying Kant's doctrine, however, is an ontological posit, of a sort, regarding the fundamental nature of our cognition. This posit, sometimes called the `discursivity thesis', while considered (...)
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  3. Partitions and Objective Indefiniteness.David Ellerman - manuscript
    Classical physics and quantum physics suggest two meta-physical types of reality: the classical notion of a objectively definite reality with properties "all the way down," and the quantum notion of an objectively indefinite type of reality. The problem of interpreting quantum mechanics (QM) is essentially the problem of making sense out of an objectively indefinite reality. These two types of reality can be respectively associated with the two mathematical concepts of subsets and quotient sets (or partitions) which are category-theoretically dual (...)
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  4. On classical finite probability theory as a quantum probability calculus.David Ellerman - manuscript
    This paper shows how the classical finite probability theory (with equiprobable outcomes) can be reinterpreted and recast as the quantum probability calculus of a pedagogical or "toy" model of quantum mechanics over sets (QM/sets). There are two parts. The notion of an "event" is reinterpreted from being an epistemological state of indefiniteness to being an objective state of indefiniteness. And the mathematical framework of finite probability theory is recast as the quantum probability calculus for QM/sets. The point is not to (...)
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  5. On the duality between existence and information.David Ellerman - manuscript
    Recent developments in pure mathematics and in mathematical logic have uncovered a fundamental duality between "existence" and "information." In logic, the duality is between the Boolean logic of subsets and the logic of quotient sets, equivalence relations, or partitions. The analogue to an element of a subset is the notion of a distinction of a partition, and that leads to a whole stream of dualities or analogies--including the development of new logical foundations for information theory parallel to Boole's development of (...)
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  6. Why the de Broglie-Bohm theory is probably wrong.Shan Gao - manuscript
    We investigate the validity of the field explanation of the wave function by analyzing the mass and charge density distributions of a quantum system. It is argued that a charged quantum system has effective mass and charge density distributing in space, proportional to the square of the absolute value of its wave function. This is also a consequence of protective measurement. If the wave function is a physical field, then the mass and charge density will be distributed in space simultaneously (...)
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  7. Derivation of the Schrödinger equation.Shan Gao - manuscript
    It is shown that the heuristic "derivation" of the Schrödinger equation in quantum mechanics textbooks can be turned into a real derivation by resorting to spacetime translation invariance and relativistic invariance.
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  8. Quantum Mechanical EPRBA covariance and classical probability.Han Geurdes - manuscript
    Contrary to Bell’s theorem it is demonstrated that with the use of classical probability theory the quantum correlation can be approximated. Hence, one may not conclude from experiment that all local hidden variable theories are ruled out by a violation of inequality result.
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  9. Interpreting Quantum Mechanics and Predictability in Terms of Facts About the Universe.Andrew Knight - manuscript
    A potentially new interpretation of quantum mechanics posits the state of the universe as a consistent set of facts that are instantiated in the correlations among entangled objects. A fact (or event) occurs exactly when the number or density of future possibilities decreases, and a quantum superposition exists if and only if the facts of the universe are consistent with the superposition. The interpretation sheds light on both in-principle and real-world predictability of the universe.
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  10. Wigner’s Friend Depends on Self-Contradictory Quantum Amplification.Andrew Knight - manuscript
    In a recent paper, Zukowski and Markiewicz showed that Wigner’s Friend (and, by extension, Schrodinger’s Cat) can be eliminated as physical possibilities on purely logical grounds. I validate this result and demonstrate the source of the contradiction in a simple experiment in which a scientist S attempts to measure the position of object |O⟩ = |A⟩S +|B⟩S by using measuring device M chosen so that |A⟩M ≈ |A⟩S and |B⟩M ≈ |B⟩S. I assume that the measurement occurs by quantum amplification (...)
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  11. Reconciling axiomatic quantum field theory with cutoff-dependent particle physics.Adam Koberinski - manuscript
    The debate between Fraser and Wallace over the foundations of quantum field theory has spawned increased focus on both the axiomatic and conventional formalisms. The debate has set the tone for future foundational analysis, and has forced philosophers to “pick a side”. The two are seen as competing research programs, and the major divide between the two manifests in how each handles renormalization. In this paper I argue that the terms set by the Fraser-Wallace debate are misleading. AQFT and CQFT (...)
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  12. A-Theory, Gedankenexperiments, and Quantum Gravity.Paul Merriam & M. A. Z. Habeeb - manuscript
    This paper proposes a novel theoretical framework for reconciling quantum mechanics with relativity that leads to a theory of quantum gravity by examining the fundamental nature of time. In the first section we argue that it is possible to perform an experiment for oneself in which, with enough ‘internal technology’ it is possible to distinguish between one’s experience of time on the one hand, and one’s thoughts about one’s experience of time on the other hand. The former gives McTaggart's A-series (...)
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  13. Quantum mechanics foundations.Bakytzhan Oralbekov - manuscript
    Gravity remains the most elusive field. Its relationship with the electromagnetic field is poorly understood. Relativity and quantum mechanics describe the aforementioned fields, respectively. Bosons and fermions are often credited with responsibility for the interactions of force and matter. It is shown here that fermions factually determine the gravitational structure of the universe, while bosons are responsible for the three established and described forces. Underlying the relationships of the gravitational and electromagnetic fields is a symmetrical probability distribution of fermions and (...)
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  14. Primitive Ontology or Primitive Relations?Quentin Ruyant - manuscript
    Primitive ontology is a program which seeks to make explicit the ontological commitments of physical theories in terms of a distribution of matter in ordinary space-time. This program targets wave-function realism, which interprets the high-dimensional configuration space on which wave-functions are defined as our fundamental physical space. Wave-function realism allegedly fails to account for a correspondence between the ontology it postulates and the ‘manifest image’ of the world in which experimental tests of the theory are performed, and therefore the wave-function (...)
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  15. Bohr’s Relational Holism and the classical-quantum Interaction.Mauro Dorato - 2016
    In this paper I present and critically discuss the main strategies that Bohr used and could have used to fend off the charge that his interpretation does not provide a clear-cut distinction between the classical and the quantum domain. In particular, in the first part of the paper I reassess the main arguments used by Bohr to advocate the indispensability of a classical framework to refer to quantum phenomena. In this respect, by using a distinction coming from an apparently unrelated (...)
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  16. The Wave Function and Its Evolution.Shan Gao - 2011
    The meaning of the wave function and its evolution are investigated. First, we argue that the wave function in quantum mechanics is a description of random discontinuous motion of particles, and the modulus square of the wave function gives the probability density of the particles being in certain locations in space. Next, we show that the linear non-relativistic evolution of the wave function of an isolated system obeys the free Schrödinger equation due to the requirements of spacetime translation invariance and (...)
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  17. Comment on "How to protect the interpretation of the wave function against protective measurements" by Jos Uffink.Shan Gao - 2011
    It is shown that Uffink's attempt to protect the interpretation of the wave function against protective measurements fails due to several errors in his arguments.
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  18. Derivation of the Meaning of the Wave Function.Shan Gao - 2011
    We show that the physical meaning of the wave function can be derived based on the established parts of quantum mechanics. It turns out that the wave function represents the state of random discontinuous motion of particles, and its modulus square determines the probability density of the particles appearing in certain positions in space.
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  19. (1 other version)Protective Measurement and the Meaning of the Wave Function.Shan Gao - 2011
    This article analyzes the implications of protective measurement for the meaning of the wave function. According to protective measurement, a charged quantum system has mass and charge density proportional to the modulus square of its wave function. It is shown that the mass and charge density is not real but effective, formed by the ergodic motion of a localized particle with the total mass and charge of the system. Moreover, it is argued that the ergodic motion is not continuous but (...)
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  20. QBism, the Perimeter of Quantum Bayesianism.Christopher A. Fuchs - 2010
    This article summarizes the Quantum Bayesian point of view of quantum mechanics, with special emphasis on the view's outer edges---dubbed QBism. QBism has its roots in personalist Bayesian probability theory, is crucially dependent upon the tools of quantum information theory, and most recently, has set out to investigate whether the physical world might be of a type sketched by some false-started philosophies of 100 years ago (pragmatism, pluralism, nonreductionism, and meliorism). Beyond conceptual issues, work at Perimeter Institute is focused on (...)
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  21. Meaning of the wave function.Shan Gao - 2010
    We investigate the meaning of the wave function by analyzing the mass and charge density distributions of a quantum system. According to protective measurement, a charged quantum system has effective mass and charge density distributing in space, proportional to the square of the absolute value of its wave function. In a realistic interpretation, the wave function of a quantum system can be taken as a description of either a physical field or the ergodic motion of a particle. The essential difference (...)
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  22. What branching spacetime might do for physics.Mark Sharlow - 2007
    In recent years, the branching spacetime (BST) interpretation of quantum mechanics has come under study by a number of philosophers, physicists and mathematicians. This paper points out some implications of the BST interpretation for two areas of quantum physics: (1) quantum gravity, and (2) stochastic interpretations of quantum mechanics.
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  23. 'Charge without charge' in the stochastic interpretation of quantum mechanics.Mark Sharlow - 2007
    In this note I examine some implications of stochastic interpretations of quantum mechanics for the concept of "charge without charge" presented by Wheeler and Misner. I argue that if a stochastic interpretation of quantum mechanics were correct, then certain shortcomings of the "charge without charge" concept could be overcome.
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  24. Undecidability and the problem of outcomes in quantum measurements.Rodolfo Gambini, Luis Pedro Garcia Pintos & Jorge Pullin - forthcoming - Foundations of Physics:93-115.
    We argue that it is fundamentally impossible to recover information about quantum superpositions when a quantum system has interacted with a sufficiently large number of degrees of freedom of the environment. This is due to the fact that gravity imposes fundamental limitations on how accurate measurements can be. This leads to the notion of undecidability: there is no way to tell, due to fundamental limitations, if a quantum system evolved unitarily or suffered wavefunction collapse. This in turn provides a solution (...)
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  25. Have underground radiation measurements refuted the Orch OR theory?Kelvin J. McQueen - forthcoming - Physics of Life Reviews.
    In [1] it is claimed that, based on radiation emission measurements described in [2], a certain “variant” of the Orch OR theory has been refuted. I agree with this claim. However, the significance of this result for Orch OR per se is unclear. After all, the refuted “variant” was never advocated by anyone, and it contradicts the views of Hameroff and Penrose (hereafter: HP) who invented Orch OR [3]. My aim is to get clear on this situation. I argue that (...)
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  26. On the Relationship between Epistemology and Science: Synergies between Experience-First Epistemologies and Agent-Centered Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics.Philipp Berghofer - 2025 - Synthese 205 (1):1-18.
    Although contemporary analytic epistemology continues to be dominated by externalist accounts, an alternative internalist approach has recently emerged that emphasizes the epistemic role of consciousness, in particular of conscious experience. According to the phenomenological experience-first epistemology (PEFE) discussed in this paper, certain experiences constitute a source of immediate justification as well as our ultimate evidence. One reason why internalist approaches are less popular in current debates is the common assumption that externalism fits better with scientific practice. In this picture, the (...)
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  27. Consciência e mecânica quântica: uma abordagem filosófica.Raoni Arroyo - 2024 - São Paulo: LF Editorial.
  28. The Open Systems View.Michael E. Cuffaro & Stephan Hartmann - 2024 - Philosophy of Physics 2 (1):6:1-27.
    There is a deeply entrenched view in philosophy and physics, the closed systems view, according to which isolated systems are conceived of as fundamental. On this view, when a system is under the influence of its environment this is described in terms of a coupling between it and a separate system which taken together are isolated. We argue against this view, and in favor of the alternative open systems view, for which systems interacting with their environment are conceived of as (...)
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  29. Non-separability, locality and criteria of reality: a reply to Waegell and McQueen.Paolo Faglia - 2024 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 106 (C):43-53.
    Using a ‘reformulation of Bell’s theorem’, Waegell and McQueen (2020) argue that any empirically adequate theory that is local and does not involve retro-causation or fine-tuning must be a many-worlds theory. They go on to analyze several prominent many-worlds interpretations and conclude that non-separable many-worlds theories whose ontology is given by the wavefunction involve superluminal causation, while separable many-worlds theories (e.g. Waegell, 2021; Deutsch and Hayden 2000) do not. I put forward three claims. (A) I challenge their argument for relying (...)
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  30. Recovering particle properties in revisionary ontologies.Sabrina Hao - 2024 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 14 (4):1-25.
    In this paper, I explore the relation between actual scientific practice and conceptual interpretation of scientific theories by investigating the particle concept in non-relativistic quantum mechanics (NRQM). On the one hand, philosophers have raised various objections against the particle concept within the context of NRQM and proposed alternative ontologies such as wave function realism, Bohmian particles, mass density field, and flashes based on different realist solutions to the measurement problem. On the other hand, scientists continue to communicate, reason, and explain (...)
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  31. Measurements, Preparations, and Interpretations in Quantum Theory: A Comment on Meehan.Guy Hetzroni - 2024 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 75 (3):687-694.
    I address the recent debate between Meehan and Vaidman concerning the claim made by the former for a new problem to quantum mechanics. I argue that while Meehan's incompatibility claim does hold in the situation he presents, it does not genuinely involve considerations that can limit quantum state preparation, nor does it introduce new constrains over possible interpretations of quantum theory.
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  32. Can Noncommutativity Be Emergent?Mir H. S. Quadri - 2024 - The Lumeni Notebook Research.
    This essay explores the concept of emergence within the framework of noncommutative systems, challenging traditional views that tie emergent behaviour to commutative rule sets. Emergence typically refers to the phenomena where higher-level complexity arises from the interactions of simpler components, often under deterministic and commutative systems. However, noncommutative systems, where the order of operations affects the outcome, introduce a unique layer of complexity that complicates this understanding. By examining the properties of noncommutative systems through formal mathematical analysis and exploring case (...)
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  33. Zeno Goes to Copenhagen: A Dilemma for Measurement-Collapse Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics.David J. Chalmers & Kelvin J. McQueen - 2023 - In M. C. Kafatos, D. Banerji & D. C. Struppa (eds.), Quantum and Consciousness Revisited. DK Publisher.
    A familiar interpretation of quantum mechanics (one of a number of views sometimes labeled the "Copenhagen interpretation'"), takes its empirical apparatus at face value, holding that the quantum wave function evolves by the Schrödinger equation except on certain occasions of measurement, when it collapses into a new state according to the Born rule. This interpretation is widely rejected, primarily because it faces the measurement problem: "measurement" is too imprecise for use in a fundamental physical theory. We argue that this is (...)
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  34. space time normalisation in GWRf Theory.Joe Coles - 2023 - International Journal of Quantum Foundations 9 (2).
    Roderich Tumulka’s GRWf theory offers a simple, realist and relativistic solution to the measurement problem of quantum mechanics. It is achieved by the introduction of a stochastic dynamical collapse of the wavefunction. An issue with dynamical collapse theories is that they involve an amendment to the Schrodinger equation; amending the dynamics of such a tried and tested theory is seen by some as problematic. This paper proposes an alteration to GRWf that avoids the need to amend the Schrodinger equation via (...)
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  35. Quantum mechanical measurement in monistic systems theory.Klaus Fröhlich - 2023 - Science and Philosophy 11 (2):76-83.
    The monistic worldview aims at a uniform description of nature based on scientific models. Quantum physical systems are mutually part of the other quantum physical systems. An aperture distributes the subsystems and the wave front in all possible ways. The system only takes one of the possible paths, as measurements show. Conclusion from Bell's theorem: Before the quantum physical measurement, there is no point-like location in the universe where all the information that explains the measurement is available. Distributed information is (...)
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  36. The Role of Reconstruction in the Elucidation of Quantum Theory.Philip Goya - 2023 - In Philipp Berghofer & Harald A. Wiltsche (eds.), Phenomenology and Qbism: New Approaches to Quantum Mechanics. New York, NY: Routledge.
  37. The role of reconstruction in the elucidation of quantum theory.Philip Goya - 2023 - In Philipp Berghofer & Harald A. Wiltsche (eds.), Phenomenology and Qbism: New Approaches to Quantum Mechanics. New York, NY: Routledge.
  38. Problems with String Theory in Quantum Gravity.Nicolae Sfetcu - 2023 - Cunoașterea Științifică 2 (4):3-8.
    String theory, a framework that aims to reconcile general relativity and quantum mechanics, holds a unique position in the field of quantum gravity. In quantum field theory, the main obstacle is the occurrence of the untreatable infinities in the interactions of the particles due to the possibility of arbitrary distances between the point particles. Strings, as extended objects, provide a better framework, which allows finite calculations. In the realm of theoretical physics, where theories often push the boundaries of human understanding, (...)
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  39. Gravitational decoherence: A thematic overview.C. Anastopoulos & B. L. Hu - 2022 - AVS Quantum Science 4:015602.
    Gravitational decoherence (GD) refers to the effects of gravity in actuating the classical appearance of a quantum system. Because the underlying processes involve issues in general relativity (GR), quantum field theory (QFT), and quantum information, GD has fundamental theoretical significance. There is a great variety of GD models, many of them involving physics that diverge from GR and/or QFT. This overview has two specific goals along with one central theme:(i) present theories of GD based on GR and QFT and explore (...)
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  40. Superdeterminism: a reappraisal.Giacomo Andreoletti & Louis Vervoort - 2022 - Synthese 200 (5):1-20.
    This paper addresses a particular interpretation of quantum mechanics, i.e. superdeterminism. In short, superdeterminism i) takes the world to be fundamentally deterministic, ii) postulates hidden variables, and iii) contra Bell, saves locality at the cost of violating the principle of statistical independence. Superdeterminism currently enjoys little support in the physics and philosophy communities. Many take it to posit the ubiquitous occurrence of hard-to-digest conspiratorial and coincidental events; others object that violating the principle of statistical independence implies the death of the (...)
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  41. Against ‘Interpretation’: Quantum Mechanics Beyond Syntax and Semantics.Raoni Wohnrath Arroyo & Gilson Olegario da Silva - 2022 - Axiomathes 32 (6):1243-1279.
    The question “what is an interpretation?” is often intertwined with the perhaps even harder question “what is a scientific theory?”. Given this proximity, we try to clarify the first question to acquire some ground for the latter. The quarrel between the syntactic and semantic conceptions of scientific theories occupied a large part of the scenario of the philosophy of science in the 20th century. For many authors, one of the two currents needed to be victorious. We endorse that such debate, (...)
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  42. Taking models seriously and being a linguistic realist.Raoni Wohnrath Arroyo & Gilson Olegario da Silva - 2022 - Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology 26 (1):73-94.
    Carnap's conception of linguistic frameworks is widespread; however, it is not entirely clear nor consensual to pinpoint what is the influence of his stance within the traditional realist/anti-realist debate. In this paper, we place Carnap as a proponent of a scientific realist stance, by presenting what he called “linguistic realism”. Some possible criticisms are considered, and a case study is offered with wave function realism, a popular position in the philosophy of quantum mechanics.
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  43. UnQuantum Woolf: The Many Intellectual Contexts of To the Lighthouse's Metaphorical Wave-Particle Binary.Xavier Cousin - 2022 - Dissertation, Durham University
    This thesis is a sceptical investigation into the notion that the metaphorical wave-particle binary of Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse is related to quantum physics. Indeed, the field of literature and science has employed conceptual similarities as the main means of connecting quantum concepts to novels, however, this has led to a host of scholarly difficulties, prompting the need for a re-examination of analogical linkages. Woolf is the model candidate for such a re-examination, given her historical and philosophical proximity with (...)
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  44. John Bell on ‘Subject and Object’: An Exchange.Hans Halvorson & Jeremy Butterfield - 2022 - Journal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 54 (2):305-324.
    This three-part paper comprises: (i) a critique by Halvorson of Bell’s (1973) paper ‘Subject and Object’; (ii) a comment by Butterfield; (iii) a reply by Halvorson. An Appendix gives the passage from Bell that is the focus of Halvorson’s critique.
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  45. Supermeasured: Violating Bell-Statistical Independence Without Violating Physical Statistical Independence.Jonte R. Hance, Sabine Hossenfelder & Tim N. Palmer - 2022 - Foundations of Physics 52 (4):1-15.
    Bell’s theorem is often said to imply that quantum mechanics violates local causality, and that local causality cannot be restored with a hidden-variables theory. This however is only correct if the hidden-variables theory fulfils an assumption called Statistical Independence. Violations of Statistical Independence are commonly interpreted as correlations between the measurement settings and the hidden variables. Such correlations have been discarded as “fine-tuning” or a “conspiracy”. We here point out that the common interpretation is at best physically ambiguous and at (...)
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  46. The wave function as a true ensemble.Jonte Hance & Sabine Hossenfelder - 2022 - Proceedings of the Royal Society 478 (2262).
    In quantum mechanics, the wavefunction predicts probabilities of possible measurement outcomes, but not which individual outcome is realised in each run of an experiment. This suggests that it describes an ensemble of states with different values of a hidden variable. Here, we analyse this idea with reference to currently known theorems and experiments. We argue that the ψ-ontic/epistemic distinction fails to properly identify ensemble interpretations and propose a more useful definition. We then show that all local ψ-ensemble interpretations which reproduce (...)
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  47. Could wavefunctions simultaneously represent knowledge and reality?Jonte Hance, John Rarity & James Ladyman - 2022 - Quantum Studies: Mathematics and Foundations 9 (3):333-341.
    In discussion of the interpretation of quantum mechanics the terms ‘ontic’ and ‘epistemic’ are often used in the sense of pertaining to what exists, and pertaining to cognition or knowledge respectively. The terms are also often associated with the formal definitions given by Harrigan and Spekkens for the wavefunction in quantum mechanics to be ψ-ontic or ψ-epistemic in the context of the ontological models framework. The formal definitions are contradictories, so that the wavefunction can be either ψ-epistemic or ψ-ontic but (...)
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  48. How Different Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics can Enrich Each Other: The Case of the Relational Quantum Mechanics and the Modal-Hamiltonian Interpretation.Olimpia Lombardi & Juan Sebastián Ardenghi - 2022 - Foundations of Physics 52 (3):1-21.
    In the literature on the interpretation of quantum mechanics, not many works attempt to adopt a proactive perspective aimed at seeing how different interpretations can enrich each other through a productive dialogue. In particular, few proposals have been devised to show that different approaches can be clarified by comparing them, and can even complement each other, improving or leading to a more fertile overall approach. The purpose of this paper is framed within this perspective of complementation and mutual enrichment. In (...)
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  49. On the continuity of metaphysics with science: Some scepticism and some suggestions.Jack Ritchie - 2022 - Metaphilosophy 53 (2-3):202-220.
  50. Grounded Shadows, Groundless Ghosts.Ezra Rubenstein - 2022 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 73 (3):723-750.
    According to a radical account of quantum metaphysics that I label ‘high-dimensionalism’, ordinary objects are the ‘shadows’ of high-dimensional fundamental ontology. Critics—especially Maudlin —allege that high-dimensionalism cannot provide a satisfactory explanation of the manifest image. In this paper, I examine the two main ideas behind these criticisms: that high-dimensionalist connections between fundamental and non-fundamental are 1) inscrutable, and 2) arbitrary. In response to the first, I argue that there is no metaphysically significant contrast regarding the scrutability of low- and high-dimensionalist (...)
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