Allori, Valia
(2019)
Quantum Mechanics, Time and Ontology.
[Preprint]
Abstract
Against what is commonly accepted in many contexts, it has been recently suggested that both
deterministic and indeterministic quantum theories are not time‐reversal invariant, and thus time
is handed in a quantum world. In this paper, I analyze these arguments and evaluate possible
reactions to them. In the context of deterministic theories, first I show that this conclusion
depends on the controversial assumption that the wave‐function is a physically real scalar field
in configuration space. Then I argue that answers which restore invariance by assuming the
wave‐function is a ray in Hilbert space fall short. Instead, I propose that one should deny that the
wave‐function represents physical systems, along the lines proposed by the so‐called primitive
ontology approach. Moreover, in the context of indeterministic theories, I argue that time‐reversal
invariance can be restored suitably redefining its meaning.
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