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Holistic Science Journal

LAOZI AND QUANTUM PHYSICS

Shantena Augusto Sabbadini

Published Sep 21, 2012• 1 citation
OpenAlex

Abstract

Shantena Sabbadini takes us on a journey from the indigenous mindset, seeing humankind embedded in the world, into the scientific perspective, that separates the passive observer from a mechanical universe. He then proposes that the dilemmas facing quantum theory may be solved by seeing that subject and object are created in every act that leaves a trace outside itself. He then compares this double state of unnamed potential and named being, with Laozi's Tao.

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Shantena Sabbadini takes us on a journey from the indigenous mindset, seeing humankind embedded in the world, into the scientific perspective, that separates the passive observer from a mechanical universe. He then proposes that the dilemmas facing quantum theory may be solved by seeing that subject and object are created in every act that leaves a trace outside itself. He then compares this double state of unnamed potential and named being, with Laozi's Tao.
Physics is usually done from a third-person perspective, as if the world were described from outside. Yet, observers are themselves physical systems within the world they observe. Here, we investigate this tension using a toy model of classical particles. Observers are physical systems characterised by a choice of (i) a manifest variable, whose value constitutes their empirical record, and (ii) ready states, which provide initial information. We ask what such observers (subjects) can learn about the world through interactions that establish a correlation with another system (the object). For each combination of the three types of learning (about the past, the future, or both), manifest variables, and ready states, we determine what the subject can learn. This shows that many subjects face an epistemic horizon---a limitation to what they can learn about the world---even though the model is classical and deterministic. For example, a subject with a complete manifest variable---one whose ontic state is the empirical record---and partial initial information can learn at most half the object's variables, recovering Spekkens' knowledge-balance principle, i.e. an analogue of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. More generally, we find that subjects face more severe epistemic horizons when predicting than when retrodicting, and that learning by repeatable measurements can be more limited than either prediction or retrodiction alone. Our work provides language and tools to study how the first-person perspective can differ from the third-person perspective beyond the toy model studied here, and invites explanations of the inherent uncertainty in quantum theory from the standpoint of embedded observers.
This book examines how major interpretations of quantum theory are progressing toward a more unified understanding and experience of nature. It offers subtle insights to address core issues of wave-particle duality, the measurement problem, the mind/body problem, determinism/indeterminism/free will, and the nature of consciousness. It draws from physics, consciousness studies, and ‘ancient Vedic science’ to outline a new holistic interpretation of quantum theory. Accessible and thought-provoking, it will be profoundly integrating for scholars and researchers in science and technology, in philosophy, and also in South Asian studies.
Theological thinking is influenced by perspectives on the relation of scientific knowledge to reality. Two paradigms for understanding the nature of human knowledge are considered in relation to quantum mechanics: the subjective-observing perspective of Kant, and the objective-participant perspective of Thomas Aquinas. I discuss whether quantum mechanics necessarily implies a subject centered perspective on reality, and argue, with reference to d'Espagnat's notion of veiled reality, that quantum non-separability challenges this view. I then explore whether the objective-participant perspective of Thomas Aquinas provides a more fruitful context for understanding quantum mechanics. I discuss quantum measurement in terms of the transition from potentiality to actuality, and knowledge as the latent intelligibility of the world realized. However, the negative nature of our knowledge of quantum non-separability also challenges this perspective. Our theological thinking in response to quantum knowledge must therefore proceed tentatively, balancing a via positiva, with a via negativa.
This article explores the profound epistemological and philosophical intersection between modern quantum theory and ancient Chinese Laozi’s philosophy to navigate the complexities of chaos and uncertainty. By challenging the limitations of classical Newtonian reductionism, which assumes the whole is merely the sum of its parts, the author argues that macroscopic life, cognitive processes, and human consciousness inherently operate under quantum-like laws characterized by wave-particle duality and state superposition. The framework map parallels the foundations of quantum mechanics and Taoist ontology, interpreting the core principles of Yin-Yang complementarity and the mutual creation of being ( yo u) and non-being ( wu ) as classical reflections of quantum dualities and entanglement. Furthermore, the study reinterprets Laozi’s cosmological principle that "Three gives birth to all things," aligning it with modern chaos theory and quantum mechanics, in which a threefold orthogonal superposition serves as the minimal source for resolving complexity and indeterminacy. Through this interdisciplinary dialogue, the article advocates for a paradigm shift from rigid, fragmented academic mindsets to an integrated, wave-like, holistic worldview—unifying Eastern wisdom and Western science—to foster cognitive evolution, innovative educational models, and sustainable human development in the era of artificial intelligence.