Guo, Bixin (2023) Next Best Thing—What Can Quantum Mechanics Tell Us About the Fundamental Ontology of the World? [Preprint]
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Abstract
Many discussions in the metaphysics and philosophy of physics literature aim to use physics as a guide to elucidate what the world really, fundamentally is like. However, we don’t yet have a confirmed fundamental theory of physics—what’s the next best thing we can possibly say about the fundamental that is properly informed by our best theories of physics? This paper offers a starting point to address this question. It focuses on the literature on the ontology of quantum mechanics, where the problem is especially salient: Many proposals aim at drawing the fundamental ontology of the world from quantum mechanics, even though they often focus on a non-fundamental theory such as nonrelativistic quantum particle mechanics. I argue that quantum mechanics can plausibly be informative about the fundamental if it is taken as a general framework theory, which covers a range of specific concrete theories, including nonrelativistic quantum particle mechanics, the Standard Model of particle physics, and string theory. I use Wavefunction Realism as an example to demonstrate what kind of ontological lessons about the world at the fundamental level the quantum framework may teach us.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | Fundamental Ontology, Fundamental Theory of Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Framework Theory | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics |
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| Depositing User: | Bixin Guo | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 18 Oct 2023 21:20 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 18 Oct 2023 21:20 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 22673 | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics |
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| Date: | October 2023 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/22673 |
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