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Quantum theory is not only about information

Felline, Laura (2018) Quantum theory is not only about information. [Preprint]

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Abstract

In his recent book Bananaworld. Quantum mechanics for primates, Jeff Bub revives and provides a mature version of his influential information-theoretic interpretation of Quantum Theory (QT). In this paper, I test Bub’s conjecture that QT should be interpreted as a theory about information, by examining whether his information-theoretic interpretation has the resources to explain (or explain away) quantum conundrums. The discussion of Bub’s theses will also serve to investigate, more in general, whether other approaches succeed in defending the claim that QT is about quantum information. First of all, I argue that Bub’s interpretation of QT as a principle theory fails to fully explain quantum non-locality. Secondly, I argue that a constructive interpretation, where the quantum state is interpreted ontically as information, also fails at providing a full explanation of quantum correlations. Finally, while epistemic interpretations might succeed in this respect, I argue that such a success comes at the price of rejecting some in between the most basic scientific standards of physical theories.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Felline, Laura
Keywords: Quantum Theory, Information-theoretic interpretation of Quantum Theory, Principle and constructive theories, Measurement problem, Epistemic and ontic interpretations of quantum theory,
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Computation/Information > Quantum
General Issues > Explanation
Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Depositing User: laura felline
Date Deposited: 14 Jun 2018 01:28
Last Modified: 14 Jun 2018 01:28
Item ID: 14777
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Computation/Information > Quantum
General Issues > Explanation
Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Date: 2018
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/14777

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