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Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics

Quantum relational indeterminacy

Claudio Calosi, Cristian Mariani

Published Jul 11, 2020• 58 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The paper presents the first thorough investigation of quantum metaphysical indeterminacy (MI) in the context of the Relational Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (RQM). We contend that the interaction between MI and RQM is mutually beneficial. On the one hand, MI provides a metaphysical framework for RQM that has been neglected in the literature, and that promises to undermine some objections that are often raised against RQM. On the other hand, RQM might serve as an example of fundamental quantum MI.

DOI
10.1016/j.shpsb.2020.06.002

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The paper presents the first thorough investigation of quantum metaphysical indeterminacy (MI) in the context of the Relational Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (RQM). We contend that the interaction between MI and RQM is mutually beneficial. On the one hand, MI provides a metaphysical framework for RQM that has been neglected in the literature, and that promises to undermine some objections that are often raised against RQM. On the other hand, RQM might serve as an example of fundamental quantum MI.
Abstract The following paper explores the metaphysical significance of Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM). For this, I will first outline Rovelli’s philosophical framework, and then offer a reconstruction of Rovelli’s seminal argument in favour of RQM. I will then explore some healthy lines of philosophical work that may be undertaken to strengthen RQM. First, I will frame RQM in the debate between realist and antirealist readings of QM and defend the general claim that RQM is compatible with realism. Then, I discuss the main ontological interpretations of RQM, which I classify as “dispositional”, “transcendental” and “structural”, and argue that all of them remain committed to substantialist assumptions that limit the radicality of Rovelli’s proposal. Finally, I analyse recent developments on RQM’s ontology and suggest that preserving its ontological originality requires an assessment on the concept of “pattern”.
The paper investigates the existence and the nature of quantum indeterminacy in a particular realist interpretation of quantum mechanics, that is, the Modal Hamiltonian Interpretation (MHI)-together with an ontology of properties for quantum systems. In doing so, it serves a twofold purpose. First, it advances the debate on quantum ontology by showing precisely how and why indeterminacy arises in a quantum world-as described by the MHI. Second, it offers a naturalistic example of genuine metaphysical indeterminacy, an example coming from our best physics.
The relational interpretation of quantum mechanics (RQM), introduced in its present form by Carlo Rovelli in 1996, involves a number of significant departures from other QM interpretations widely discussed in the literature. We begin here by summarizing these unique RQM features, with a focus on those that suggest altered insights into the nature of the randomness exhibited in QM phenomena. One of these RQM features is the assumption that all objects in the universe are quantum objects, regardless of their material complexity. And, the interaction of any two objects can result in new relational quantum states of each of the objects with the other as reference. But such new states do not replace relational states corresponding to previous interactions with other reference objects. In particular, such earlier relational states that include a variable considered to be random do not collapse to define a determined value of the variable, but instead simply take on that specific value in the state relative to the new reference. The concept of randomness associated with quantum state variables in RQM thus differs from that in other QM interpretations. Rather than take the usual pedantic approach of elaborate side-by-side comparisons between the RQM and other common QM interpretations, we illustrate these differences by describing in some detail the well-known "dual-slit" experiment in terms of RQM concepts, pointing out the important advantages over other interpretations along the way. Of course, we suggest no change in dual-slit experiment results, but believe that the interpretative modifications are helpful and profound.
Abstract The present paper aims to provide an insight into the epistemological and metaphysical implications of a structuralist interpretation of Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM). I will suggest that the ‘entity‐relation identity’ at the core of a particular formulation of Ontic Structural Realism represents the best framework against which to understand RQM, and, in turn, that this interpretation provides some support for the adoption of a structuralist viewpoint in Quantum Mechanics thus understood. The choice is motivated by the same revisionary metaphysics they both seem to offer, with respect to the notion of entity and of relation.
Discussing the contemporary debate about the metaphysics of relations and structural realism, I analyse the philosophical significance of relational quantum mechanics (RQM). Relativising properties of objects (or systems) to other objects (or systems), RQM affirms that reality is inherently relational. My claim is that RQM can be seen as an instantiation of the ontology of ontic structural realism, for which relations are prior to objects, since it provides good reasons for the argument from the primacy of relation. In order to provide some evidence, RQM is interpreted focusing on its metametaphysics, in particular in relation to the very concept of relation, and to the meaning such concept assumes in the dispute between realism and antirealism.