Philosophy of Physics



Aerts, Dieterik. "The Stuff the World Is Made Of: Physics and Reality." arXiv (7/7/01).
http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/0107044
Taking into account the results in the foundations of quantum mechanics, the author puts forward a view on reality that he calls the 'creation discovery view.' In this view, a measurement is an act of a macroscopic physical entity on a microphysical entity that entails the creation of new elements of reality as well as the detection of existing elements of reality. Within this view most of the quantum mechanical paradoxes are due to structural shortcomings of the standard quantum theory. Nonlocality appears as a genuine property of nature and makes it necessary to reconsider the role of space in reality.

Foschini, Luigi. "Logic-linguistic Remarks on Quantum Physics." arXiv (7/21/98).
http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/9804040
The logical and linguistic structure of quantum physics is analysed. The problems of decidability, completeness, and consistency can affect quantum physics in different ways. The author argues that the flowing of time prevents the birth of contradictions in nature, because it makes a cut between two different, but complementary aspects of the reality.

Gambini, Rodolfo, Rafael A. Porto. "Relational Reality in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics." arXiv (6/13/01).
http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/0105146
Extends Heisenberg's realistic interpretation of quantum mechanics to the relativistic domain. The basic problem here is the dependence of the states on the frame within which collapse takes place. The authors claims that a suitable use of the causal structure of the devices involved in the measurement process allows us to introduce a covariant notion for the collapse of quantum states and to preserve the Heisenberg's real tendency interpretation in relativistic quantum mechanics.

Gorsky, O. I. "Distinquishing of Indistinquishable. Coarse Graining of Relationships." arXiv (5/10/01).
http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/physics/0105027

Mohrhoff, Ulrich. "The One, the Many, and the Quantum." arXiv (5/26/00).
http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/0005110
The author contends that one cannot think of reality as being built "from the bottom up," out of locally instantiated physical properties. Instead, he insists that one must conceive of the physical world as being built "from the top down".

Mohrhoff, Ulrich. "Two Theories of Decoherence." arXiv (8/1/01).
http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/0108002
The author presents two theories of decoherence—Platonic and Aristotelian. Platonists grant ontological primacy to the concepts and mathematical symbols while Aristotelians grant it to the physical world. The significance one attaches to the phenomenon of decoherence depends on the school to which one belongs. For Aristotelians, quantum states are neither states of Nature nor states of knowledge. The real issue is not the kind of reality that we should attribute to quantum states but the reality of the spatial and temporal distinctions that we make. Once this is recognized, the necessity of attributing ontological primacy to facts becomes obvious: the Platonic stance becomes inconsistent.

Wang, Zhen. "The Time's Arrow within the Uncertainty Quantum." arXiv (6/22/98).
http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/9806071

Zimmerman, Rainer E. "Beyond the Physics of Logic: Aspects of Transcendental Materialism or Uram in a Modern View." arXiv (5/28/01).
http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/physics/0105094