The World in the Wave Function: A Metaphysics for Quantum Physics

Detlef Dürr, Sheldon Goldstein, Nino Zanghı̀

Mario Hubert

This is my review forthcoming in Philosophy of Science of Alyssa Ney's The World in the Wave Function: A Metaphysics for Quantum Physics (Oxford University Press, 2021).

Craig Callender

Antonio Vassallo, Pedro Naranjo, Tim Andreas Koslowski

Abstract The paper presents an extension of the metaphysics of self-subsisting structures set out in a companion paper to the realm of non-relativistic quantum physics. The discussion is centered around a Pure Shape Dynamics model representing a relational implementation of a de Broglie-Bohm N -body system. An interpretation of this model in terms of self-subsisting structures is proposed and assessed against the background of the debate on the metaphysics of quantum physics, with a particular emphasis on the nature of the wave function. The analysis shows that elaborating an appropriate Leibnizian/Machian metaphysics of the quantum world requires a substantial revision of the notion of world-building relation.

Nina Emery

Some theories of quantum mechanical phenomena endorse wave function realism, according to which the physical space we inhabit is very different from the physical space we appear to inhabit. In this paper I explore an argument against wave function realism that appeals to a type of simplicity that, although often overlooked, plays a crucial role in scientific theory choice. The type of simplicity in question is simplicity of fit between the way a theory says the world is and the way the world appears to be. This argument can be understood as one way of spelling out the so‐called “incredulous stare objection” that is sometimes leveled against surprising metaphysical theories.

Arthur B. Komar