On Physics and Philosophy

Description

Among the great ironies of quantum mechanics is not only that its conceptual foundations seem strange even to the physicists who use it, but that philosophers have largely ignored it. Here, Bernard d'Espagnat argues that quantum physics—by casting doubts on once hallowed concepts such as space, material objects, and causality-demands serious reconsideration of most of traditional philosophy. On Physics and Philosophy is an accessible, mathematics-free reflection on the philosophical meaning of the quantum revolution, by one of the world's leading authorities on the subject. D'Espagnat presents an objective account of the main guiding principles of contemporary physics-in particular, quantum mechanics-followed by a look at just what consequences these should imply for philosophical thinking. The author begins by describing recent discoveries in quantum physics such as nonseparability, and explicating the significance of contemporary developments such as decoherence. Then he proceeds to set various philosophical theories of knowledge—such as materialism, realism, Kantism, and neo-Kantism—against the conceptual problems quantum theory raises. His overall conclusion is that while the physical implications of quantum theory suggest that scientific knowledge will never truly describe mind-independent reality, the notion of such an ultimate reality—one we can never access directly or rationally and which he calls "veiled reality"—remains conceptually necessary nonetheless. Contents Preface to the English Edition Foreword PART 1: PHYSICAL FACTS AND RELATED CONCEPTUAL PROBLEMS 1 Broad Overview 2 Overstepping the Limits of the Framework of Familiar Concepts 3 Nonseparability and Bell’s Theorem 4 Objectivity and Empirical Reality 5 Quantum Physics and Realism 6 Universal Laws and the “Reality” Question 7 Antirealism and Physics; the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Problem; Methodological Operationalism 8 Measurement and Decoherence, Universality Revisited 9 Various Realist Attempts 10 Schrodinger’s Cat, Wigner’s Friend, and Veiled Reality PART 2: A PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS 11 Science and Philosophy 12 Materialisms 13 Suggestions from Kantism 14 Causality and Observational Predictability 15 Explanation and Phenomena 16 Mind and Things 17 Pragmatic-Transcendental versus Veiled Reality Approach 18 Objects and Consciousness 19 The “Ground of Things” Appendix 1: The Bell Theorem Appendix 2: Consistent Histories, Counterfactuality, and Bell’s Theorem Appendix 3: Correlation-at-a-Distance in the Broglie-Bohm Model References Name Index Subject Index