We critically examine the role and status probabilities, as they enter via the Quantum Equilibrium Hypothesis, play in the standard, deterministic interpretation of deBroglie’s and Bohm’s Pilot Wave Theory (dBBT), by considering interpretations of probabilities in terms of ignorance, typicality and Humean Best Systems, respectively. We argue that there is an inherent conflict between dBBT and probabilities, thus construed. The conflict originates in dBBT’s deterministic nature, rooted in the Guidance Equation. Inquiring into the latter’s role within dBBT, we find it (...) explanatorily redundant (in particular for dBBT’s solution of the Measurement Problem, which only requires that the corpuscles possess definite positions), and subject to a number of difficulties. Following a suggestion from Bell, we propose to abandon the Guidance Equation, whilst retaining dBBT’s point particle-based Primitive Ontology, with positions as local beables. The resultant theory, which we identify as a stochastic, minimally deBroglie-Bohmian theory, describes a random walk through configuration space. Its probabilities, we propose, are best understood as dispositions of possible corpuscle configurations to manifest themselves. We subsequently evaluate the merits of sdBBT vis-à-vis dBBT, such as the justification of the Symmetrisation Postulate and the violation of the Action-Reaction Principle. Not only is sdBBT an attractive Bohmian theory that, whilst retaining dBBT's virtues, overcomes many of its shortcomings; it also sparks off a number of exciting follow-up questions, such as a comparison between sdBBT and other stochastic hidden-variable theories, e.g. Nelson Stochastics, or between sdBBT and the Everett interpretation. (shrink)

Kaum ein anderer lebender Naturwissenschaftler besitzt die Fähigkeit, mit solcher Geistesklarheit die tiefsten Einsichten von moderner Quantenphysik mit dem uralten spirituellen Menschheitswissen zu verknüpfen wie - Hans-Peter Dürr! Es gelingt Dürr scheinbar mühelos, eine Synthese zwischen den meditativen Einsichten der Weisen des Ostens und den aktuellen Erkenntnissen der modernen Naturwissenschaften herzustellen. Dabei verliert er sich niemals in langatmigen akademischen Erläuterungen, sondern hat stets den Menschen und die gesellschaftliche Wirklichkeit des 21. Jahrhunderts im Blick. Ein Brückenschlag zwischen zwei Welten, der vielleicht (...) niemals notwendiger war als zurzeit. Eine kleines Meisterwerk, das in einleuchtender Weise aufzeigt - alles Leben ist EINS! (shrink)

A source of much difficulty and confusion in the interpretation of quantum mechanics is a naive realism about operators. By this we refer to various ways of taking too seriously the notion of operator-as-observable, and in particular to the all too casual talk about measuring operators that occurs when the subject is quantum mechanics. Without a specification of what should be meant by measuring a quantum observable, such an expression can have no clear meaning. A definite specification is provided by (...) Bohmian mechanics, a theory that emerges from Schrödinger's equation for a system of particles when we merely insist that particles means particles. Bohmian mechanics clarifies the status and the role of operators as observables in quantum mechanics by providing the operational details absent from standard quantum mechanics. It thereby allows us to readily dismiss all the radical claims traditionally enveloping the transition from the classical to the quantum realm — for example, that we must abandon classical logic or classical probability. The moral is rather simple: Beware naive realism, especially about operators! (shrink)

This article deals with the notion of jurisdictional discourse, which, as a specific type of complex discourse, always poses a real challenge to translators. The authors present a contrastive analysis of the texts of legal decisions in French, German and Polish in order to demonstrate the difficulties in translation and the consequences which they entail, and to suggest a strategy for overcoming them. Firstly, the authors briefly compare the texts of judicial decisions indicating their characteristics both in terms of the (...) macrostructure of the text and in terms of syntactic and lexical units. Secondly, they explain the origin of the difficulties in translation resulting from the qualitative differences of the legal systems. Thirdly, the different types of difficulties are described and illustrated by practical examples, in order to make experienced translators and apprentice translators sensitive to them. The corpus used for the analysis consists of the integral and documented texts of the French, German and Polish judgments rendered in matters of civil law [37]. It should also be noted that the analyzed texts are comparable texts, which are a valuable tool for translators and allow them to acquire means of expression that are as natural as possible [40]. Regarding the methodology, the authors adopt for the analysis the contrastive method, borrowed from the theory of cultural transfer [15]. (shrink)

Bohmian mechanics is a theory about point particles moving along trajectories. It has the property that in a world governed by Bohmian mechanics, observers see the same statistics for experimental results as predicted by quantum mechanics. Bohmian mechanics thus provides an explanation of quantum mechanics. Moreover, the Bohmian trajectories are defined in a non-conspiratorial way by a few simple laws.

Quantum philosophy, a peculiar twentieth-century malady, is responsible for most of the conceptual muddle plaguing the foundations of quantum physics. When this philosophy is eschewed, one naturally arrives at Bohmian mechanics, which is what emerges from Schrodinger's equation for a nonrelativistic system of particles when we merely insist that 'particles' means particles. While distinctly non-Newtonian, Bohmian mechanics is a fully deterministic theory of particles in motion, a motion choreographed by the wave function. The quantum formalism emerges when measurement situations are (...) analyzed according to this theory. When the quantum formalism is regarded as arising in this way, the paradoxes and perplexities so often associated with quantum theory simply evaporate.Bohr's ... approach to atomic problems ... is really remarkable. He is completely convinced that any understanding in the usual sense of the word is impossible. Therefore the conversation is almost immediately driven into philosophical questions, and soon you no longer know whether you really take the position he is attacking, or whether you really must attack the position he is defending. (shrink)

J. Phys. A, to appear, quant-ph/0506173.

in Stochastic Processes, Physics and Geometry II, edited by S. Albeverio, U. Cattaneo, D. Merlini (World Scientific, Singapore, 1995) pp. 221-232.

It is well known that density matrices can be used in quantum mechanics to represent the information available to an observer about either a system with a random wave function (“statistical mixture”) or a system that is entangled with another system (“reduced density matrix”). We point out another role, previously unnoticed in the literature, that a density matrix can play: it can be the “conditional density matrix,” conditional on the configuration of the environment. A precise definition can be given in (...) the context of Bohmian mechanics, whereas orthodox quantum mechanics is too vague to allow a sharp definition, except perhaps in special cases. In contrast to statistical and reduced density matrices, forming the conditional density matrix involves no averaging. In Bohmian mechanics with spin, the conditional density matrix replaces the notion of conditional wave function, as the object with the same dynamical significance as the wave function of a Bohmian system. (shrink)

Human encroachment on the habitats of wild animals and the dense living conditions of farmed animals increase spill-over risk of emerging infectious diseases from animals to humans (such as COVID-19). In this article, we defend two claims: First, we argue that in order to limit the risk of emerging infectious disease outbreaks in the future, a One Health approach is needed, which focuses on human, animal, and environmental health. Second, we claim that One Health should not solely be grounded in (...) collaborations between veterinary, medical, and environmental scientists, but should also involve more dialogue with animal and environmental ethicists. Such an interdisciplinary approach would result in epidemiology-driven measures that are ethically legitimate. (shrink)

We analyze the origin of quantum randomness within the framework of a completely deterministic theory of particle motion—Bohmian mechanics. We show that a universe governed by this mechanics evolves in such a way as to give rise to the appearance of randomness, with empirical distributions in agreement with the predictions of the quantum formalism. Crucial ingredients in our analysis are the concept of the effective wave function of a subsystem and that of a random system. The latter is a notion (...) of interest in its own right and is relevant to any discussion of the role of probability in a deterministic universe. (shrink)

In this review, we will focus on the role played by transcription factors of the E2F/DP family in controlling the expression of genes that carry out important cell‐cycle control functions, thereby ensuring ordered progression through the mammalian cell division cycle. The emerging picture is that cell‐cycle progression depends on the execution of a regulatory cascade of gene expression, driven by E2F/DP transcription factors, which are in turn regulated by the products of some of these genes. That E2F factors are potent (...) regulators of cell‐cycle checkpoints in mammalian cells is supported by experiments demonstrating that ectopic expression of individual E2F family members is sufficient to modulate cell proliferation and apoptosis. It is also clear that deregulation of E2F activity will result in the loss of particular checkpoint controls, thereby predisposing cells to malignant conversion. BioEssays 21:221–230. 1999. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. -/- . (shrink)

In classical physics, the world is considered as a matter-based reality, the arrangement of whose parts in time is uniquely determined by certain dynamic laws. By contrast, modern quantum physics reveals that matter is not composed of matter, but reality is merely potentiality. The world has a holistic structure, which is based on fundamental relations and not material objects, admitting more open, indeterministic developments. In this more flexible causal framework, inanimate and animate matter are not to be considered as fundamentally (...) different but as different order structures of the same immaterial entity. In a stable configuration, effectively all the uncertainties are statistically averaged out, thus the unique and deterministic behavior of ordinary inanimate matter is exhibited; whereas in the case of statically unstable but dynamically stable configurations, the “lively” features of the underlying quantum structure have a chance to surface to the mesocopic level and to be connected with what we observe as the phenomenon of life. This supposition can be more explicitly treated and clarified by identifying the electric dipole moment of biomolecules as the ordering parameter of the corresponding macroquantum system. This has important consequences for biology and medicine. In particular, it suggests the existence of a quantum-based “software,” essential perhaps for the logistics of biological processes, which are hidden behind the matter/energy-based “hardware” that alone is considered in the conventional approach. In medicine it opens an opportunity to build bridges between conventional medicine based essentially on the classical paradigm, and the various forms of complementary medicine, which have strong affinities with the new features of the modern holistic worldview. (shrink)

"Nicht die Bedingungen der Moglichkeit irgendwelcher Erkenntnisse, nicht die Voraussetzungen des Erkennens, weder die formalen noch die materialen, sondern das Erkennen selbst zu untersuchen ist die Aufgabe dieser Erkenntnistheorie. Dass etwas erkannt wird, d. h. dass in Wahrnehmungen, Erinnerungen, Gedanken, im Zweifeln, Glauben und Wissen Gegenstande erfasst werden, diese Tatsache bildet den Ausgangspunkt der folgenden Betrachtungen. Wie die verschiedenen Arten des Erkennens sich voneinander unterscheiden, aus welchen Elementarprozessen sie sich zusammensetzen und welche Gesetze ihre Entwickelung beherrschen, das sind die Fragen, (...) die von der Psychologie des Erkennens zu beantworten sind." Der Verlag der Wissenschaften verlegt historische Literatur bekannter und unbekannter wissenschaftlicher Autoren. Dem interessierten Leser werden so teilweise langst nicht mehr verlegte Werke wieder zugangig gemacht. Dieses Buch uber die Erkenntnistheorie von Dr. Ernst Durr ist ein unveranderter, hochwertiger Nachdruck der Originalausgabe aus dem Jahr 1910.". (shrink)