Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2107.02089

Relativistic Constraints on Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics

Wayne C. Myrvold

Published Jul 5, 2021• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

This chapter, from the Routledge Companion to the Philosophy of Physics (Eleanor Knox and Alastair Wilson, eds., 2021), is an overview of the constraints that relativity places on interpretations of quantum theory. It focuses on four main avenues of approach: (i) additional beables theories, which include "hidden-variables" theories and modal interpretations, (ii) dynamical collapse theories, (iii) Everettian, or "many-worlds" interpretations, and (iv) non-realist interpretations, which deny that quantum states represent anything in physical reality independent of considerations of agents and their beliefs.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2107.02089

Related papers

Philosophical Problems of Quantum Physics: Main Solutions and Beyond

Paolo Di Sia

We present a historical-epistemological analysis of the foundations of quantum mechanics, highlighting the relationships between quantum mechanics and scientific realism, as well as the influence of the neo-positivist philosophy of the first decades of the 20th century. The great significance of the measurement process in the context of quantum mechanics is underlined as an essential element in providing a coherent description of reality, moving from micro to macrocosm, as well as the role that the measurement apparatus and the consciousness of the observer assume during the act of measurement, the related ontological problems, the question of the objectification of the wave function, and that of the definition of discernibility. We consider also an overview of the most important alternative proposals to the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics (Copenhagen interpretation), with particular reference to hidden variable theories and other alternatives to standard quantum mechanics philosophical approach, that are modifying the vision of reality, such as the Everett’s many-worlds theory, the QBism and unified holistic approaches, such as the Primordial Dynamic Space.

World Scientific News•Jul 23, 2026•0 citations

The Case for the Everettian Multiverse

David Wallace

I give a non-technical presentation of the argument that quantum mechanics, in the form in which it is currently used, needs to be understood in many-worlds (Everettian) terms; the alternatives that have been discussed are at present not able to reproduce the full empirical content of the theory. This is a draft of a chapter for the forthcoming Blackwell Companion to Philosophy and the Multiverse (Klaas Kraay and Daniel Rubio, eds.).

•Jan 1, 2026•0 citations

A Philosopher's Understanding of Quantum Mechanics

Pieter E. Vermaas

This book is about how to understand quantum mechanics by means of a modal interpretation. Modal interpretations provide a general framework within which quantum mechanics can be considered as a theory that describes reality in terms of physical systems possessing definite properties. Quantum mechanics is standardly understood to be a theory about probabilities with which measurements have outcomes. Modal interpretations are relatively new attempts to present quantum mechanics as a theory which, like other physical theories, describes an observer-independent reality. In this book, Pieter Vermaas summarises the results of this work. The book will be of great value to undergraduates, graduate students and researchers in philosophy of science, and physics departments with an interest in learning about modal interpretations of quantum mechanics.

Cambridge University Press eBooks•Jan 1, 2000•7 citations

Epistemological-Philosophical Problems of Quantum Mechanics and Main Solution Attempts: An Overview

Paolo Di Sia

This work presents a historical-epistemological analysis of the foundations of quantum mechanics. From a philosophical point of view, the relationships between quantum mechanics and scientific realism are highlighted, as well as the influence of the neo-positivist philosophy of the first decades of the 20th century. The great significance of measurement in the context of quantum mechanics is underlined, as an essential element in providing a coherent description of reality moving from the microcosm to the macrocosm, as well as the role that the measurement apparatus and the consciousness of the observer assume during the act of measurement, the ontological problem, the problem of the objectification of the wave function and the problem of the definition of discernibility. This is followed by an overview of the most important alternative proposals to the standard interpretation (Copenhagen interpretation), with particular reference to hidden variable theories, and other alternatives to standard quantum mechanics that profoundly modify the vision of reality, such as the Everett’s many-worlds theory, the QBism, the unified holistic approach.

•May 27, 2024•1 citation

Quantum Worlds

Lombardi, Olimpia, Sebastián Fortín, López, Cristian +1 more

Quantum theory underpins much of modern physics and its implications draw the attention of industry, academia and public funding agencies. However there are many unsettled conceptual and philosophical problems in the interpretation of quantum mechanics which are a matter of extensive debate. These hotly debated topics include the meaning of the wave function, the nature of the quantum objects, the role of the observer, the non-locality of the quantum world, and the emergence of classicality from the quantum domain. Containing chapters written by eminent researchers from the fields of physics and philosophy, this book provides interdisciplinary, comprehensive and up-to-date perspectives of the problems related to the interpretation of quantum theory. It is ideal for academic researchers in physics and philosophy working on the ontology of quantum mechanics.

Cambridge University Press eBooks•Apr 6, 2019•13 citations

Against Unpriced Worlds: Observer-Equivalence and Ontological Economy in Everettian Branching

Federico Batori

Working philosophical/foundational draft.This paper extends the logic of the companion BCT paper The A=A Problem for Everettian Branching from subject-individuation to observer-world individuation. Its central claim is that branch or microphysical multiplicity should not automatically be counted as observer-world multiplicity unless it induces observer-relevant record differentiation. The paper does not deny decoherence, emergent branch structure, or the universal quantum state. It argues instead for an observer-equivalence constraint: physically distinct realizations that agree on all accessible, persistent, update-constraining records for a finite observer A do not define distinct observer-worlds for A.Related companion paper: The A=A Problem for Everettian Branching, available in the recently published BCT philosophical working-papers record (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19649860).Background: independent researcher.Web site: https://bit-collapse-theory.netlify.app/Main DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18496128 AbstractEverettian quantum mechanics is often presented as ontologically economical because it preserves unitary dynamics and avoids physical collapse. This paper argues that such economy remains incomplete unless Everettian realism supplies a principled criterion for counting worlds, branches, histories, or observer-relevant realities. The central worry is not mathematical branching, but ontological overcounting: the move from branch-level or microphysical multiplicity to full world-multiplicity may assign ontological weight to distinctions that make no difference to any observer-constituting record. The paper introduces an observer-equivalence constraint: two physical or branch-relative realizations are equivalent for a finite observer A if they agree with respect to all physically accessible, persistent, update-constraining records available to A within its finite integration window. In the conscious case, the relevant record-structure is understood as temporally integrated over a finite window rather than as an instantaneous observer-slice. The resulting picture does not refute Everettian quantum mechanics, nor does it deny decoherence or branch structure. It instead challenges the interpretation of branch multiplicity as unpriced ontological multiplicity and proposes a record-based constraint on ontological economy: worlds should not be counted more finely than the record-structures that make them difference-making for observers. Keywordsquantum foundations; Everett interpretation; observer-equivalence; ontological economy; branching worlds; records; subject-individuation; informational identity

•Apr 19, 2026•0 citations
This chapter, from the Routledge Companion to the Philosophy of Physics (Eleanor Knox and Alastair Wilson, eds., 2021), is an overview of the constraints that relativity places on interpretations of quantum theory. It focuses on four main avenues of approach: (i) additional beables theories, which include "hidden-variables" theories and modal interpretations, (ii) dynamical collapse theories, (iii) Everettian, or "many-worlds" interpretations, and (iv) non-realist interpretations, which deny that quantum states represent anything in physical reality independent of considerations of agents and their beliefs.
We present a historical-epistemological analysis of the foundations of quantum mechanics, highlighting the relationships between quantum mechanics and scientific realism, as well as the influence of the neo-positivist philosophy of the first decades of the 20th century. The great significance of the measurement process in the context of quantum mechanics is underlined as an essential element in providing a coherent description of reality, moving from micro to macrocosm, as well as the role that the measurement apparatus and the consciousness of the observer assume during the act of measurement, the related ontological problems, the question of the objectification of the wave function, and that of the definition of discernibility. We consider also an overview of the most important alternative proposals to the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics (Copenhagen interpretation), with particular reference to hidden variable theories and other alternatives to standard quantum mechanics philosophical approach, that are modifying the vision of reality, such as the Everett’s many-worlds theory, the QBism and unified holistic approaches, such as the Primordial Dynamic Space.
This book is about how to understand quantum mechanics by means of a modal interpretation. Modal interpretations provide a general framework within which quantum mechanics can be considered as a theory that describes reality in terms of physical systems possessing definite properties. Quantum mechanics is standardly understood to be a theory about probabilities with which measurements have outcomes. Modal interpretations are relatively new attempts to present quantum mechanics as a theory which, like other physical theories, describes an observer-independent reality. In this book, Pieter Vermaas summarises the results of this work. The book will be of great value to undergraduates, graduate students and researchers in philosophy of science, and physics departments with an interest in learning about modal interpretations of quantum mechanics.
This work presents a historical-epistemological analysis of the foundations of quantum mechanics. From a philosophical point of view, the relationships between quantum mechanics and scientific realism are highlighted, as well as the influence of the neo-positivist philosophy of the first decades of the 20th century. The great significance of measurement in the context of quantum mechanics is underlined, as an essential element in providing a coherent description of reality moving from the microcosm to the macrocosm, as well as the role that the measurement apparatus and the consciousness of the observer assume during the act of measurement, the ontological problem, the problem of the objectification of the wave function and the problem of the definition of discernibility. This is followed by an overview of the most important alternative proposals to the standard interpretation (Copenhagen interpretation), with particular reference to hidden variable theories, and other alternatives to standard quantum mechanics that profoundly modify the vision of reality, such as the Everett’s many-worlds theory, the QBism, the unified holistic approach.
Quantum theory underpins much of modern physics and its implications draw the attention of industry, academia and public funding agencies. However there are many unsettled conceptual and philosophical problems in the interpretation of quantum mechanics which are a matter of extensive debate. These hotly debated topics include the meaning of the wave function, the nature of the quantum objects, the role of the observer, the non-locality of the quantum world, and the emergence of classicality from the quantum domain. Containing chapters written by eminent researchers from the fields of physics and philosophy, this book provides interdisciplinary, comprehensive and up-to-date perspectives of the problems related to the interpretation of quantum theory. It is ideal for academic researchers in physics and philosophy working on the ontology of quantum mechanics.
Working philosophical/foundational draft.This paper extends the logic of the companion BCT paper The A=A Problem for Everettian Branching from subject-individuation to observer-world individuation. Its central claim is that branch or microphysical multiplicity should not automatically be counted as observer-world multiplicity unless it induces observer-relevant record differentiation. The paper does not deny decoherence, emergent branch structure, or the universal quantum state. It argues instead for an observer-equivalence constraint: physically distinct realizations that agree on all accessible, persistent, update-constraining records for a finite observer A do not define distinct observer-worlds for A.Related companion paper: The A=A Problem for Everettian Branching, available in the recently published BCT philosophical working-papers record (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19649860).Background: independent researcher.Web site: https://bit-collapse-theory.netlify.app/Main DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18496128 AbstractEverettian quantum mechanics is often presented as ontologically economical because it preserves unitary dynamics and avoids physical collapse. This paper argues that such economy remains incomplete unless Everettian realism supplies a principled criterion for counting worlds, branches, histories, or observer-relevant realities. The central worry is not mathematical branching, but ontological overcounting: the move from branch-level or microphysical multiplicity to full world-multiplicity may assign ontological weight to distinctions that make no difference to any observer-constituting record. The paper introduces an observer-equivalence constraint: two physical or branch-relative realizations are equivalent for a finite observer A if they agree with respect to all physically accessible, persistent, update-constraining records available to A within its finite integration window. In the conscious case, the relevant record-structure is understood as temporally integrated over a finite window rather than as an instantaneous observer-slice. The resulting picture does not refute Everettian quantum mechanics, nor does it deny decoherence or branch structure. It instead challenges the interpretation of branch multiplicity as unpriced ontological multiplicity and proposes a record-based constraint on ontological economy: worlds should not be counted more finely than the record-structures that make them difference-making for observers. Keywordsquantum foundations; Everett interpretation; observer-equivalence; ontological economy; branching worlds; records; subject-individuation; informational identity