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Indeterminism in Physics and Intuitionistic Mathematics

Gisin, Nicolas (2020) Indeterminism in Physics and Intuitionistic Mathematics. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Most physics theories are deterministic, with the notable exception of quantum mechanics which, however, comes plagued by the so-called measurement problem. This state of affairs might well be due to the inability of standard mathematics to ``speak" of indeterminism, its inability to present us a worldview in which new information is created as time passes. In such a case, scientific determinism would only be an illusion due to the timeless mathematical language scientists use. To investigate this possibility it is necessary to develop an alternative mathematical language that is both powerful enough to allow scientists to compute predictions and compatible with indeterminism and the passage of time. We argue that intuitionistic mathematics provides such a language and we illustrate it in simple terms.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Gisin, NicolasNicolas.Gisin@unige.ch0000-0003-0788-3494
Keywords: indeterminism, constructive mathematics, intuitionism, chaos
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Foundations
Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics
General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism
General Issues > Laws of Nature
Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Depositing User: Prof. Nicolas Gisin
Date Deposited: 09 Nov 2020 17:14
Last Modified: 09 Nov 2020 17:14
Item ID: 18372
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Foundations
Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics
General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism
General Issues > Laws of Nature
Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Date: 9 November 2020
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/18372

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