Menon, Tushar (2026) Investigating Quantum Mechanics. [Preprint]

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Abstract

This paper rejects a widely-held but ultimately untenable semantic presupposition in the philosophy of quantum mechanics: that the significance of the modal vocabulary of quantum mechanics (including quantum state ascriptions) is ultimately to be understood in terms of denotation. By instead invoking a Sellarsian approach to modal vocabulary, and a Brandomian approach to meaning-conferral, this paper reconciles three apparently incompatible readings of the quantum state: nomological‑modal, pragmatic‑advisory, and descriptive-denotational. In doing so, it allows us to hold on to the significant insights that each of these readings provides into the worlds modeled by quantum mechanics.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Menon, Tushar tm399.acu@pm.me 0009-0004-7216-6197
Keywords:	Quantum mechanics, Measurement problem, Pragmatism, Inferentialism
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Depositing User:	Dr Tushar Menon
Date Deposited:	05 Mar 2026 12:05
Last Modified:	05 Mar 2026 12:05
Item ID:	28439
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Date:	2026
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/28439

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