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Nordisk Psykologi

Niels Bohrs belæringer og psykologiens observationsbegreb

SVEND BØRGE ANDERSEN

Published Jan 1, 1987• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Andersen, S.B.: The instructions of Niels Bohr on the concept of observation in psychology. Nordisk Psykologi, 1987, 39 (3), 203–215. The Danish physicist Niels Bohr has summarized his insights from studies of atomic processes. He considered these insights to be universal and general for human knowledge. In his view the observational situation is an inseparable whole which always includes the observer in an essential way so that the traditional concepts of isolated objects and of cause and effect lose their meaning. Using the Danish thinker Søren Kierkegaard as a background, some of the consequences of Niels Bohr's views are discussed with respect to psychology. It is argued that another concept of knowledge, of objectivity and reality is required in psychological research.

DOI
10.1080/00291463.1987.10637341

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Andersen, S.B.: The instructions of Niels Bohr on the concept of observation in psychology. Nordisk Psykologi, 1987, 39 (3), 203–215. The Danish physicist Niels Bohr has summarized his insights from studies of atomic processes. He considered these insights to be universal and general for human knowledge. In his view the observational situation is an inseparable whole which always includes the observer in an essential way so that the traditional concepts of isolated objects and of cause and effect lose their meaning. Using the Danish thinker Søren Kierkegaard as a background, some of the consequences of Niels Bohr's views are discussed with respect to psychology. It is argued that another concept of knowledge, of objectivity and reality is required in psychological research.
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Niels Bohr and the Philosophy of Physics: Twenty-First-Century Perspectives examines the philosophical views, influences and legacy of the Nobel Prize physicist and philosophical spokesman of the quantum revolution, Niels Bohr. The sixteen contributions in this collection by some of the best contemporary philosophers and physicists writing on Bohr’s philosophy today all carefully distinguish his subtle and unique interpretation of quantum mechanics from views often imputed to him under the banner of the “Copenhagen Interpretation.” With respect to philosophical influences on Bohr’s outlook, the contributors analyse prominent similarities between his viewpoint and Kantian ways of thinking, the views of the Danish philosopher Harald Høffding, and themes characteristic of American pragmatism. In recognizing the importance of Bohr’s epistemological naturalism they examine his defence of the indispensability of classical concepts from a variety of different perspectives. This collection shows us that Bohr’s interpretation of quantum mechanics, now nearly a century old, still has
I: Hoffding as Mentor.- I.- 1. Harald Hoffding, His Life and Thought.- 2. Hoffding and Bohr Senior.- II.- 1. The Ekliptika Circle.- 2. Bohr and William James.- 3. Bohr and Kierkegaard.- 4. The Student Bohr on Formal Logic.- III.- 1. The Friendship.- 2. The Years Around 1927.- 3. Hoffding on Complementarity.- IV.- 1. Hoffding's Theory of Knowledge.- 2. Totality as a Category.- 3. Hoffding's Philosophy of Mind and Psychology of Free Will.- 4. Hoffding on Biology.- 5. Analogy and Scientific Progress.- II: Bohr and the Atomic Description of Nature.- V.- 1. The Principle of Correspondence.- 2. The Search for an Interpretation.- VI.- 1. Complementarity.- 2. Quantum Mechanics and Psychology.- 3. Bohr on Biology.- VII.- 1. The Objectivity of Knowledge.- 2. The EPR Discussion.- 3. The Conditions for Description.- VIII.- 1. Bohr and Realism.- 2. Hoffding on Reality.- 3. Objective Anti-Realism.- Epilogue: The Legacy.- Notes.
The article discusses a new understanding of the reality in the 20th century. Since the key figure in these changes was the Danish physicist Niels Bohr, we refer to his early and later articles to analyze the use of the term “reality”. Through an analysis of the terms, it is shown that Bohr describes discoveries in earlier articles that are inconsistent with old concepts in physics, and it is these questions that will further lead him to a new understanding of reality. In the article we also indicate how many times and in what contexts the term “reality” is used. Further, we find that the term “reality” is more common in later articles than in his earlier works (Copenhagen’s interpretation of quantum theory had not yet been formulated at the time of writing the early works). Through the analyzing of usage of certain terms, we show how the emphasis in the early and late Bohr’s articles shifts. For many years, the Danish physicist has sought to clarify quantum theory. In some later articles, we note that the problems affect not only physical, but also other areas of knowledge. We also analyze the use of the term in later articles. This analysis shows how Niels Bohr’s discoveries in the nature of the objects of the micro-world lead him to questions about the nature of reality. How discoveries in the microcosm affect the new conception of reality is best traced in controversy with other physicists. As the most striking example, we took the article “Discussion with Einstein on epistemological problems in atomic physics”. In this article, Bohr describes the specific behavior of micro-objects, features of physical experiments and proves the idea that a fundamentally new (including ontological plan) understanding of physical processes is needed. An analysis of the terms shows that, from Bohr’s point of view, reality itself is as described by its quantum mechanics. We strive to show the evolution of Bohr’s views in the context of how they influenced the revision of all physics. We conclude that the discovery of stationary states in an atom is the first step to rethinking philosophical questions of a nature of reality.
Abstract In this paper, I suggest that a closer look at Bohr’s analogies to psychology helps us to better understand his interpretation of quantum measurement and how he conceived of the role of the subject in quantum physics. This focus helps us to pinpoint how Bohr’s view on quantum measurement differed from John von Neumann’s and Wolfgang Pauli’s understandings of it. I argue that Bohr’s interpretation of quantum measurement was about ensuring that quantum mechanics is an objective description of quantum phenomena. For Bohr, objective knowledge meant knowledge that can be communicated unambiguously, which requires that there is a sharp division between subject and object. He was adamant that in physics, there is such a sharp division, including in quantum physics. Therefore, he argued, there is no measurement problem in quantum physics.
Niels Bohr and Philosophy of Physics: Twenty-First Century Perspectives examines the philosophical views, influences and legacy of the Nobel Prize physicist and philosophical spokesman of the quantum revolution, Niels Bohr. The sixteen contributions in this collection by some of the best contemporary philosophers and physicists writing on Bohr's philosophy today all carefully distinguish his subtle and unique interpretation of quantum mechanics from views often imputed to him under the banner of the “Copenhagen Interpretation.” With respect to philosophical influences on Bohr's outlook, the contributors analyse prominent similarities between his viewpoint and Kantian ways of thinking, the views of the Danish philosopher Harald Høffding, and themes characteristic of American pragmatism. In recognizing the importance of Bohr's epistemological naturalism they examine his defence of the indispensability of classical concepts from a variety of different perspectives. This collection shows us that Bohr's interpretation of quantum mechanics, now nearly a century old, still has the power to shed light on a variety of issues that have arisen only since his lifetime, as well as decoherence theory and other non-collapse interpretations. Balancing historical themes with contemporary discussions, Niels Bohr and the Philosophy of Physics establishes Bohr's on-going contribution to the philosophy of physics and examines his place in the history of philosophy.