Arkady Plotnitsky

Epistemology and Probability (eBook, PDF)

Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrödinger, and the Nature of Quantum-Theoretical Thinking

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

This book offers an exploration of the relationships between epistemology and probability in the work of Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and Erwin Schro- ¿ dinger, and in quantum mechanics and in modern physics as a whole. It also considers the implications of these relationships and of quantum theory itself for our understanding of the nature of human thinking and knowledge in general, or the ''epistemological lesson of quantum mechanics,'' as Bohr liked 1 to say. These implications are radical and controversial. While they have been seen as scientifically productive and intellectually liberating to some, Bohr and Heisenberg among them, they have been troublesome to many others, such as Schrö dinger and, most prominently, Albert Einstein. Einstein famously refused to believe that God would resort to playing dice or rather to playing with nature in the way quantum mechanics appeared to suggest, which is indeed quite different from playing dice. According to his later (sometime around 1953) remark, a lesser known or commented upon but arguably more important one: ''That the Lord should play [dice], all right; but that He should gamble according to definite rules [i. e. , according to the rules of quantum mechanics, rather than 2 by merely throwing dice], that is beyond me. '' Although Einstein's invocation of God is taken literally sometimes, he was not talking about God but about the way nature works. Bohr's reply on an earlier occasion to Einstein's question 1 Cf.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Springer US
• Seitenzahl: 402
• Erscheinungstermin: 20. Oktober 2009
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9780387853345
• Artikelnr.: 37288689

Autorenporträt

Arkady Plotnitsky is a distinguished professor at Purdue University, where he teaches in the Literature, Theory and Cultural Studies Program, and the Philosophy and Literature Program. He received his M.S. in Mathematics from Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) State University, and his PhD in Literary Theory from the University of Pennsylvania. He previously taught at the University of Pennsylvania and Duke University. His extensive publications on the philosophy of mathematics and physics, continental philosophy, and on the relationships among literature, philosophy, and science, include nine books, two hundred articles and, as editor/coeditor, nine volumes of essays and journal issues. He has given about one hundred invited plenary lectures and presented over three hundred papers at international conferences. His most recent books are The Principles of Quantum Theory, from Planck's Quantum to the Higgs Boson: The Nature of Quantum Reality and the Spirit of Copenhagen (Springer,2016) and Reality Without Realism: Matter, Thought, and Technology in Quantum Physics (Springer, 2021).

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction-Epistemology and Probability in Quantum Theory: Physics, Mathematics, and Philosophy.- Quantum Phenomena and the Double-Slit Experiment.- Heisenberg's Revolutions: New Kinematics, New Mathematics, and New Philosophy.- From Geometry to Algebra in Physics, with Heisenberg.- Schrödinger's Waves: Propagation and Probability.- Bohr's Como Argument: Complementarity and the Problem of Causality.- From Como to Copenhagen: Renunciations.- Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered both Complete and Local?.- Essential Ambiguity and Essential Influence: Reading Bohr's Reply to EPR.- Mysteries Without Mysticism, Correlations Without Correlata, Epistemology Without Ontology, and Probability Without Causality.- 11 Conclusion: "The Mere Touch of Cold Philosophy".

Rezensionen

From the reviews: "Plotnitsky (theory and cultural studies, Purdue Univ.) analyzes the discussions and disagreements among the principals (mentioned in the title), and offers his insightful comments on the questions. ... The discussions on probability and epistemology remind readers of 18th-century debates on the topic in which d'Alembert participated. This book should interest anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the epistemology of quantum mechanics, especially the issues thrashed out in the early phases. ... Summing Up: Highly recommended. Academic libraries serving graduate students, researchers, and faculty." (V. V. Raman, Choice, Vol. 47 (10), June, 2010)