What is quantum social science? After a short discursion into the field of “econophysics” we now arrive at a much more exotic stop. However, readers who have perused Chapter 1, will possibly be less astonished to find that instead of making reference to social science within a statistical mechanics environment, we now make reference to social science as it could be embedded in a quantum mechanical context. Or is “quantum social science” denoting something altogether different? The term is certainly fraught with a huge potential for misinterpretation. A common, but maybe not so erroneous, interpretation of the term often made by newcomers to this “field” can be expressed via the following question: “is quantum social science about reformulating social science with quantum mechanical tools?” Such a question brings us closer to the goal of attempting to explain quantum social science, but right here and now, i.e. at this very point in this book, we have the opportunity to make a serious attempt to be really precise on what is meant with this new term. Therefore, let us from the outset indicate what it is not . Quantum social science is not about reformulating social science on a quantum size scale. The macroscopic world does not operate at the Planck scale. On prima facie, this obvious statement does not need any further explanation. However, if the human experience is centered around consciousness and the functioning of the brain, then we are much less sure to claim there is a total absence of quantum processes.
What is quantum social science? After a short discursion into the field of “econophysics” we now arrive at a much more exotic stop. However, readers who have perused Chapter 1, will possibly be less astonished to find that instead of making reference to social science within a statistical mechanics environment, we now make reference to social science as it could be embedded in a quantum mechanical context. Or is “quantum social science” denoting something altogether different? The term is certainly fraught with a huge potential for misinterpretation. A common, but maybe not so erroneous, interpretation of the term often made by newcomers to this “field” can be expressed via the following question: “is quantum social science about reformulating social science with quantum mechanical tools?” Such a question brings us closer to the goal of attempting to explain quantum social science, but right here and now, i.e. at this very point in this book, we have the opportunity to make a serious attempt to be really precise on what is meant with this new term. Therefore, let us from the outset indicate what it is not . Quantum social science is not about reformulating social science on a quantum size scale. The macroscopic world does not operate at the Planck scale. On prima facie, this obvious statement does not need any further explanation. However, if the human experience is centered around consciousness and the functioning of the brain, then we are much less sure to claim there is a total absence of quantum processes.
Abstract The social and economic sciences are grounded on the basic assumption that social life, decision-making behavior, and consciousness are classical physical and therefore material phenomena. Quantum social science, a new research area, which refers to the knowledge and interpretations of quantum physics, is challenging this assumption. This paper gives an overview of quantum social science and explains quantum decision theory on the one hand with a focus on the cognitive biases first elaborated by Kahneman & Tversky, and on the other hand by Darwin´s theory of evolution.
Introduction The central claim of this book is that all intentional phenomena are quantum mechanical. That goes both for the private thoughts inside our heads and for public or collective intentions like norms, culture, and language, which we might generically call institutions. I suggested in Chapter 1 that by virtue of their dependence on consciousness, a classical, materialist ontology cannot explain these phenomena, and as such from that perspective they must be epiphenomenal or illusions. In the rest of this book I show that a quantum, panpsychist ontology can provide a physical basis for what we all know to be true, which is that both private and collective intentions are part of the natural order. The elementary parts of social ontology are human beings in their biological individuality, which in this Part I consider in abstraction from their lived social contexts. By taking humans out of their natural habitat I aim to focus attention on what we bring to the social table simply by virtue of being organisms of a certain kind. The abstract individual is a common enough starting point in classical social theory (think Hobbes and the state of nature). However, it might seem an odd place to begin a quantum social theory, given the holism of quantum phenomena, both “all the way down” in having no elementary parts, and “all the way across” in universal non-locality. What look like separate organisms are just local decoherence effects of quantum fields; everything really is related to everything else. In that light the abstract individual appears not just as an abstraction, but as positively occluding what “the individual” really is. However, there is a difference between what is true of a universal ontology and what is practically relevant to specifically socialontologies, which are constrained by the properties of their constituent organisms. Unlike some organisms, humans live in highly interdependent societies, and most of what is interesting about us is socially constituted as well.
Written by world experts in the foundations of quantum mechanics and its applications to social science, this book shows how elementary quantum mechanical principles can be applied to decision-making paradoxes in psychology and used in modelling information in finance and economics. The book starts with a thorough overview of some of the salient differences between classical, statistical and quantum mechanics. It presents arguments on why quantum mechanics can be applied outside of physics and defines quantum social science. The issue of the existence of quantum probabilistic effects in psychology, economics and finance is addressed and basic questions and answers are provided. Aimed at researchers in economics and psychology, as well as physics, basic mathematical preliminaries and elementary concepts from quantum mechanics are defined in a self-contained way.
This article deals with the problems of studying communication links in a digital society. An analysis is made of the heuristic possibilities of the classical causal model for describing the dependencies of social phenomena. In the world of quantum phenomena, however, any measurement affects the system. The mere fact that we measure, for example, the location of a particle, leads to an unpredictable change in its speed. The same phenomena can be observed in the social system: any empirical study of social phenomena automatically produces in itself, some changes in this system. Modern physics has discovered the quantum structure of the material world. And human beings, as material objects, really are quantum. Therefore, social life requires a quantum structure for its proper understanding. This means that we need to develop a “quantum social science”. The principles of quantum mechanics are relevant for social theory, and therefore quantum theory cannot be ignored in the social sciences. The quantum effect can be described as the propensity of certain individuals to modify their conduct due to their consciousness of being observed. This effect refers to the fact that people will modify their behavior simply because they are being observed. The new approaches are proposed for using the quantum dependence model of theoretical physics in relation to the human phenomena in the modern digital space.
Introduction Chapter 1 dealt with one of the deepest mysteries in modern science: how to explain consciousness. This Part deals with another mystery: how to make sense of quantum mechanics. Both involve a problem of reconciliation with the classical worldview, which is one hint that the two mysteries might be related. A second is that, unlike classical physics, which makes no reference to or allowance for consciousness, quantum theory raises the issue of consciousness and its relationship to the physical world in a very direct way. These hints do not necessarily mean there is a connection between the two mysteries, but by the end of this Part I hope to have shown why it would be natural to look for one. My more immediate aim here is to give the social scientific reader an introductory understanding of the experimental findings of quantum theory, its key concepts, and the debates about its interpretation. The discussion assumes no prior knowledge of quantum physics and makes no use of mathematics. Quantum theory without equations might seem like an oxymoron, and certainly reading this Part will not enable anyone to use quantum theory. But to a perhaps surprising degree it is possible to understand quantum theory without being able to use it. Its findings can be communicated in ordinary language, and the same goes for its main concepts and interpretive debates. One consequence of this has been the emergence of a virtual cottage industry of books on quantum theory for a lay audience. Most are written by physicists, and many are quite good. However, it is not just popular treatments that do without equations: much of the professional philosophical literature does as well. (I draw on both kinds of literature below.) Philosophers of physics are trained to understand the math, of course, which is necessary for a full appreciation of the issues.
Quantum probability theory, originally developed in the context of quantum mechanics, has increasingly been applied to social sciences to explain decision-making, cognition, and collective behavior. Unlike classical probability models, which assume pre-existing and well-defined preferences, quantum models incorporate superposition, interference, and non-commutativity to capture the contextual dependence and measurement effects observed in human decisions. This paper systematically explores the theoretical foundations of quantum probability in social sciences, discusses model construction techniques, and reviews empirical findings supporting its application. By examining case studies in quantum cognition, quantum game theory, and quantum voting, we illustrate how quantum approaches provide alternative explanations for phenomena such as order effects, measurement-induced attitude shifts, and collective polarization. The paper also discusses the methodological challenges and limitations of quantum social science, emphasizing the need for rigorous experimental validation and interdisciplinary collaboration. Finally, we highlight the potential for integrating quantum probability models with emerging technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence, opening new avenues for social science research and policy applications.