Dieks, Dennis (2009) Objectivity in perspective: relationism in the interpretation of quantum mechanics. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Pekka Lahti is a prominent exponent of the renaissance of foundational studies in quantum mechanics that has taken place during the last few decades. Among other things, he and coworkers have drawn renewed attention to, and have analyzed with fresh mathematical rigor, the threat of inconsistency at the basis of quantum theory: ordinary measurement interactions, described within the mathematical formalism by Schr\"{o}dinger-type equations of motion, seem to be unable to lead to the occurrence of definite measurement outcomes, whereas the same formalism is interpreted in terms of probabilities of precisely such definite outcomes. Of course, it is essential here to be explicit about how definite measurement results (or definite properties in general) should be represented in the formalism. To this end Lahti et al. have introduced their objectification requirement that says that a system can be taken to possess a definite property if it is certain (in the sense of probability 1) that this property will be found upon measurement. As they have gone on to demonstrate, this requirement entails that in general definite outcomes cannot arise in unitary measuring processes. In this paper we investigate whether it is possible to escape from this deadlock. As we shall argue, there is a way out in which the objectification requirement is fully maintained. The key idea is to adapt the notion of objectivity itself, by introducing relational or perspectival properties. It seems that such a ``relational perspective'' offers prospects of overcoming some of the long-standing problems in the interpretation of quantum mechanics.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Dieks, Dennis
Keywords:	objectification, perspectivalism, relational quantum mechanics, locality, realism
Subjects:	General Issues > Reductionism/Holism General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Depositing User:	Dennis Dieks
Date Deposited:	19 Aug 2009
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2010 15:18
Item ID:	4841
Subjects:	General Issues > Reductionism/Holism General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Date:	February 2009
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/4841

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