We elaborate on a new interpretation of quantum mechanics which we introduced recently.The main hypothesis of this new interpretation is that quantum particles are entities interacting with matter conceptually, which means that pieces of matter function as interfaces for the conceptual content carried by the quantum particles.We explain how our interpretation was inspired by our earlier analysis of non-locality as non-spatiality and a specific interpretation of quantum potentiality, which we illustrate by means of the example of two interconnected vessels of water.We show by means of this example that philosophical realism is not in contradiction with the recent findings with respect to Leggett's inequalities and their violations.We explain our recent work on using the quantum formalism to model human concepts and their combinations and how this has given rise to the foundational ideas of our new quantum interpretation.We analyze the equivalence of meaning in the realm of human concepts and coherence in the realm of quantum particles, and how the duality of abstract and concrete leads naturally to a Heisenberg uncertainty relation.We illustrate the role played by interference and entanglement and show how the new interpretation explains the problems related to identity and individuality in quantum mechanics.We put forward a possible scenario for the emergence of the reality of macroscopic objects.
We elaborate on a new interpretation of quantum mechanics which we introduced recently.The main hypothesis of this new interpretation is that quantum particles are entities interacting with matter conceptually, which means that pieces of matter function as interfaces for the conceptual content carried by the quantum particles.We explain how our interpretation was inspired by our earlier analysis of non-locality as non-spatiality and a specific interpretation of quantum potentiality, which we illustrate by means of the example of two interconnected vessels of water.We show by means of this example that philosophical realism is not in contradiction with the recent findings with respect to Leggett's inequalities and their violations.We explain our recent work on using the quantum formalism to model human concepts and their combinations and how this has given rise to the foundational ideas of our new quantum interpretation.We analyze the equivalence of meaning in the realm of human concepts and coherence in the realm of quantum particles, and how the duality of abstract and concrete leads naturally to a Heisenberg uncertainty relation.We illustrate the role played by interference and entanglement and show how the new interpretation explains the problems related to identity and individuality in quantum mechanics.We put forward a possible scenario for the emergence of the reality of macroscopic objects.
We put forward a possible new interpretation and explanatory framework for quantum theory. The basic hypothesis underlying this new framework is that quantum particles are conceptual entities. More concretely, we propose that quantum particles interact with ordinary matter, nuclei, atoms, molecules, macroscopic material entities, measuring apparatuses,..., in a similar way to how human concepts interact with memory structures, human minds or artificial memories. We analyze the most characteristic aspects of quantum theory, i.e. entanglement and non-locality, interference and superposition, identity and individuality in the light of this new interpretation, and we put forward a specific explanation and understanding of these aspects. The basic hypothesis of our framework gives rise in a natural way to a Heisenberg uncertainty principle which introduces an understanding of the general situation of ‘the one and the many ’ in quantum physics. A specific view on macro and micro different from the common one follows from the basic hypothesis and leads to an analysis of Schrödinger’s Cat paradox and the measurement problem different from the existing ones. We reflect about the influence of this new quantum interpretation and explanatory framework on the global nature and evolutionary aspects of the world and human worldviews, and point out potential explanations for specific situations, such as the generation problem in particle physics, the confinement of quarks and the existence of dark matter. 1
We elaborate an interpretation of quantum physics founded on the hypothesis that quantum particles are conceptual entities playing the role of communication vehicles between material entities composed of ordinary matter which function as memory structures for these quantum particles. We show in which way this new interpretation gives rise to a natural explanation for the quantum effects of interference and entanglement by analyzing how interference and entanglement emerge for the case of human concepts. We put forward a scheme to derive a metric based on similarity as a predecessor for the structure of ‘space, time, momentum, energy ’ and ‘quantum particles interacting with ordinary matter ’ underlying standard quantum physics, within the new interpretation, and making use of aspects of traditional quantum axiomatics. More specifically, we analyze how the effect of non-locality arises as a consequence of the confrontation of such an emerging metric type of structure and the remaining presence of the basic conceptual structure on the fundamental level, with the potential of being revealed in specific situations.
Since its inception, many physicists have seen in quantum mechanics the possibility, if not the necessity, of bringing cognitive aspects into the play, which were instead absent, or unnoticed, in the previous classical theories. In this article, we outline the path that led us to support the hypothesis that our physical reality is fundamentally conceptual-like and cognitivistic-like. However, contrary to the 'abstract ego hypothesis' introduced by John von Neumann and further explored, in more recent times, by Henry Stapp, our approach does not rely on the measurement problem as expressing a possible 'gap in physical causation', which would point to a reality lying beyond the mind-matter distinction. On the contrary, in our approach the measurement problem is considered to be essentially solved, at least for what concerns the origin of quantum probabilities, which we have reasons to believe they would be epistemic. Our conclusion that conceptuality and cognition would be an integral part of all physical processes comes instead from the observation of the striking similarities between the non-spatial behavior of the quantum micro-physical entities and that of the human concepts. This gave birth to a new interpretation of quantum mechanics, called the 'conceptualistic interpretation', currently under investigation within our group in Brussels.
Quantum mechanics describes physical systems through probabilistic wave functions, accounting for phenomena such as wave–particle duality and the uncertainty principle. Although the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics is well established, conceptual understanding of how quantum entities transition between wave-like and particle-like behavior remains an active area of research. In this work, quantum mechanical principles are re-examined from an interaction-based perspective, emphasizing the roles of environmental coupling, measurement geometry, and energy exchange. Using the photoelectric effect, de Broglie relations, and Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle as foundational elements, a conceptual framework is proposed in which particle identity emerges dynamically from wave interaction with matter and measurement constraints. This interpretation provides an intuitive bridge between classical reasoning and quantum behavior while fully preserving the standard mathematical structure of quantum mechanics...........Please check the attachment for details
The conceptuality interpretation of quantum mechanics proposes that quantum entities have a conceptual nature, interacting with the material world through processes that are the physical counterpart of the meaning-based processes, which typically occur in human cognition. This interpretation emerged from the early developments in quantum cognition , a field that uses quantum mathematics to model human cognitive activity. It benefited from the specific approach taken by the Brussels research group , modelling concepts themselves as quantum entities and minds as measuring apparatus. The article sketches the essential steps of the intellectual journey, going from the first applications of quantum notions and formalisms to human cognition to the proposal of a potentially groundbreaking interpretation of quantum mechanics, offering profound explanations for major quantum phenomena. This was done by drawing numerous parallels with the human conceptual domain and suggesting the existence of a level of cognitive activity that would underlie our physical reality. This means that an increased cross-fertilization between the conceptuality interpretation and quantum cognition is to be expected in the future, both of which are synergistic in furthering our understanding of the nature of reality. This is the first part of a two-part article. In the second part, which can be read independently of the first, the successes of the interpretation will be described in a more systematic way, providing a brief overview of what has been achieved so far. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Quantum theory and topology in models of decision making (Part 1)’.
The conceptuality interpretation, proposed by Diederik Aerts in 2009, is presented here as a possible theoretical perspective for achieving a unified understanding of many fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics and relativity. After discussing the notion of reality and the role of choice and possibility in the construction of the real, we note how the interpretation emerges from the successes of quantum cognition, and show how it allows us to reinterpret phenomena and experiments such as the double-slit experiment, quantum erasure, entanglement, Bose–Einstein condensation, and the measurement problem by assigning a central role to dynamics governed by meaning, within a pancognitivist perspective. It is further suggested that the metric of relativistic spacetime can also be coherently understood using the same interpretive key. Quantum mechanics and relativity would thus find, in the conceptuality interpretation, an ontological and foundational framework capable of making them not only more intelligible but, in some respects, even intuitive. The price to be paid for this explanatory advantage, however, is that we must relinquish the idea that we live in a world populated primarily by spatiotemporal entities, and instead conceive of reality as a fundamentally cognitive-conceptual structure, in which every interaction ultimately takes the form of a communication.