This article discusses Niels Bohr's philosophy of complementarity in the field of biology. To do this, it shows how the concept of complementarity arises in quantum physics and how Bohr generalizes it so that to apply it to biology. Likewise, the article looks for the philosophical sources that give rise to the philosophy of complementarity and concludes that said philosophy is oriented towards an epistemological, rather than an ontological, analysis of subatomic objects and living beings.
This article discusses Niels Bohr's philosophy of complementarity in the field of biology. To do this, it shows how the concept of complementarity arises in quantum physics and how Bohr generalizes it so that to apply it to biology. Likewise, the article looks for the philosophical sources that give rise to the philosophy of complementarity and concludes that said philosophy is oriented towards an epistemological, rather than an ontological, analysis of subatomic objects and living beings.
El presente artículo analiza la filosofía de la complementariedad de Niels Bohr en el campo de la biología. Para ello, muestra como surge el concepto de complementariedad en la física cuántica y cómo Bohr lo generaliza para aplicarlo a la biología. Asimismo, el artículo busca las fuentes filosóficas que dan origen a la filosofía de la complementariedad y concluye que dicha filosofía se orienta hacia el análisis epistemológico, y no el ontológico, de los objetos subatómicos y de los seres vivos.
Resumo: A nova forma de causalidade estatistica, Niels Bohr deu-lhe o nome de principio da complementaridade, em dois modos de compreender a “natureza fisica”. As relacoes de complementaridade, expressando os limites dos conceitos classicos, pretende apresentar nova leitura sobre os fenomenos atomicos, em termos dos conceitos da fisica classica. Assim, N. Bohr propoe um novo principio de complementaridade. Assim, sera analisada, tanto quanto for possivel, os fundamentos ontologicos, gnoseologicos e as aplicacoes do referido principio da Mecânica Quântica. Palavras-chave: Niels Bohr, principio da complementaridade, mecânica quântica, ontologia, gnoseologia, filosofia e aplicacoes. Summary: To this novel type of statistical causality Bohr gave the name complementarity; the two mutually exclusive modes of description where said to be complementary, and they then conditioned each other in a statistical way. This relation of complementarity, expressing the limitations of the classical concepts, made it possible to give a complete and consistent account of the atomic phenomena in terms of such classical concepts of physics. Bohr stressed the possibility of applying a similar method of analysis to the most varied domains of knowledge, where apparent contradictions resolve themselves into relations of complementarity. According to N. Bohr, there is effort to achieving a more and more precise formulation of the complementarity idea, and to developing its wider ontological or gnoseological implications as soon as possible the phenomenological applications to others sciences, on this article, by the Quantum Mechanics.
This article explores Bohr's argument, advanced under the heading of 'complementarity,' concerning quantum phenomena and quantum mechanics, and its physical and philosophical implications.In Bohr, the term complementarity designates both a particular concept and an overall interpretation of quantum phenomena and quantum mechanics, in part grounded in this concept.While the argument of this article is primarily philosophical, it will also address, historically, the development and transformations of Bohr's thinking, under the impact of the development of quantum theory and Bohr's confrontation with Einstein, especially their exchange concerning the EPR experiment, proposed by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen in 1935.Bohr's interpretation was progressively characterized by a more radical epistemology, in its ultimate form, which was developed in the 1930s and with which I shall be especially concerned here, defined by his new concepts of phenomenon and atomicity.According to this epistemology, quantum objects are seen as indescribable and possibly even as inconceivable, and as manifesting their existence only in the effects of their interactions with measuring instruments upon those instruments, effects that define phenomena in Bohr's sense.The absence of causality is an automatic consequence of this epistemology.I shall also consider how probability and statistics work under these epistemological conditions.
Niels Bohr introduced the concept of complementarity in order to give a general account of quantum mechanics, however he stressed that the idea of complementarity is related to the general difficulty in the formation of human ideas, inherent in the distinction between subject and object. The complementary descriptions approach is a framework for the interpretation of quantum mechanics, more specifically, it focuses in the development of the idea of complementarity and the concept of potentiality in the orthodox quantum formulation. In PART I of this article, we analyze the ideas of Bohr and present the principle of complementary description which takes into account Einstein's ontological position. We argue, in PART II, that this development allows a better understanding of some of the paradigmatic interpretational problems in quantum mechanics, such as the measurement problem and the quantum to classical limit. We conclude that one should further develop complementarity in order to elaborate a consistent worldview.
Niels Bohr introduced the concept of complementarity in order to give a general account of quantum mechanics, however he stressed that the idea of complementarity is related to the general difficulty in the formation of human ideas, inherent in the distinction between subject and object. The complementary descriptions approach is a framework for the interpretation of quantum mechanics, more specifically, it focuses in the development of the idea of complementarity and the concept of potentiality in the orthodox quantum formulation. In PART I of this article, we analyze the ideas of Bohr and present the principle of complementary description which takes into account Einstein's ontological position. We argue, in PART II, that this development allows a better understanding of some of the paradigmatic interpretational problems in quantum mechanics, such as the measurement problem and the quantum to classical limit. We conclude that one should further develop complementarity in order to elaborate a consistent worldview.
In this study Arun Bala examines the implications that Niels Bohr’s principle of complementarity holds for fields beyond physics. Bohr, one of the founding figures of modern quantum physics, argued that the principle of complementarity he proposed for understanding atomic processes has parallels in psychology, biology, and social science, as well as in Buddhist and Taoist thought. But Bohr failed to offer any explanation for why complementarity might extend beyond physics, and his claims have been widely rejected by scientists as empty speculation. Scientific scepticism has only been reinforced by the naïve enthusiasm of postmodern relativists and New Age intuitionists, who seize upon Bohr’s ideas to justify anti-realist and mystical positions. Arun Bala offers a detailed defence of Bohr’s claim that complementarity has far-reaching implications for the biological and social sciences, as well as for comparative philosophies of science, by explaining Bohr’s parallels as responses to the omnipresence of grown properties in nature.