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The Mathematization of Nature]{Wave Function Realism and the Mathematization of Nature. A Phenomenological Perspective

Berghofer, Philipp and Wiltsche, Harald (2026) The Mathematization of Nature]{Wave Function Realism and the Mathematization of Nature. A Phenomenological Perspective. [Preprint]

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Abstract

This chapter reexamines wave function realism (WFR) through the lens of phenomenology. We begin by situating WFR within the broader debate about the ontology of the quantum state and the temptation to “read off” metaphysics from
mathematical formalism. Against this background, we turn to the London–Bauer interpretation (LBI), the most explicit attempt to interpret quantum mechanics through phenomenological categories. On this view, the measurement transition is not a physical discontinuity but a reflective articulation of objectivity, and the wave function formally encodes the horizonal structure of world-givenness. We
develop this idea by reconfiguring the notion of realism itself: not as objectivist, but as correlational and transcendental. The resulting picture suggests that quantum mechanics, rather than depicting a world “minus observers,” mathematically articulates the very correlation through which a world becomes manifest at all.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Berghofer, Philippphilipp.berghofer@uni-graz.at0000-0002-9044-0637
Wiltsche, Haraldharald.wiltsche@liu.se0000-0001-9560-0284
Keywords: quantum mechanics, phenomenology, wave function, realism
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Depositing User: Dr. Harald A. Wiltsche
Date Deposited: 07 Jan 2026 12:12
Last Modified: 07 Jan 2026 12:12
Item ID: 27798
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Date: 6 January 2026
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/27798

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