Wallace, David and Timpson, Christopher Gordon (2009) Quantum Mechanics on Spacetime I: Spacetime State Realism. [Preprint]
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Abstract
What ontology does realism about the quantum state suggest? The main extant view in contemporary philosophy of physics is wave-function realism. We elaborate the sense in which wave-function realism does provide an ontological picture; and defend it from certain objections that have been raised against it. However, there are good reasons to be dissatisfied with wave-function realism, as we go on to elaborate. This motivates the development of an opposing picture: what we call spacetime state realism; a view which takes the states associated to spacetime regions as fundamental. This approach enjoys a number of beneficial features, although, unlike wave-function realism, it involves non-separability at the level of fundamental ontology. We investigate the pros and cons of this non-separability, arguing that it is a quite acceptable feature; even one which proves fruitful in the context of relativistic covariance. A companion paper discusses the prospects for combining a spacetime-based ontology with separability, along lines suggested by Deutsch and Hayden
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| Item Type: | Preprint | |||||||||
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| Additional Information: | Forthcoming in the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. | |||||||||
| Keywords: | spacetime state realism, wave-function realism, quantum ontology, non-separability, narratability | |||||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Field Theory |
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| Depositing User: | Christopher Gordon Timpson | |||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 13 May 2009 | |||||||||
| Last Modified: | 07 Oct 2010 15:17 | |||||||||
| Item ID: | 4621 | |||||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Field Theory |
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| Date: | May 2009 | |||||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/4621 |
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