Abstract

In this work I look at the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics, especially as espoused by Niels Bohr, and place it in the context of the so-called "interpretive-turn" contemporary philosophy has taken. From a close reading of the three volumes of philosophical essays written by Bohr, I show how the philosophy that emerges as the result of heeding a variety of what Bohr refers to as "epistemological lessons" is quite consistent with a philosophical hermeneutics one finds in the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer. ;Principally, I show how the three central aspects of Gadamer's thought, namely, Dialogue, Experience, and Bildung , are likewise at the heart of the thought of Bohr. ;After a brief history of hermeneutics, including the understanding/explanation dichotomy as it plays a role in the philosophy of science, I examine the following topics: A brief history of quantum theory; The measurement problem and the subject-object distinction; Language and objectivity; The problem of causality and the breakdown of language; Realism and truth; Complementarity. ;My analysis shows similarities between the way Bohr treats these scientific/philosophical issues and the treatment they are given by Gadamer and modern hermeneutics. ;Most importantly, I show how Bohr's innovative conception of "Complementarity" belongs to philosophical hermeneutics just as much as to quantum theory. Bohr's attempts to apply complementarity outside the domain of physical science--especially to ethnological and anthropological studies--yield an approach to these disciplines that is similar to the more hermeneutic approach found in the work of Peter Winch and Clifford Geertz. ;Finally, I show how Bohr's attempts to propound a theory of a "Unity of Knowledge" contribute to the current rationality debates taking place in the philosophy of science and are further evidence that we have moved beyond the more traditional exclusionary choices of "realism versus anti-realism" and "objectivism versus relativism.".