Science and Metaphysics: The Case of Quantum Physics

Peter J. Lewis

Raoni Wohnrath Arroyo, Jonas R. Becker Arenhart

We discuss some methodological aspects of the relation between physics and metaphysics by dealing specifically with the case of non-relativistic quantum mechanics. Our main claim is that current attempts to productively integrate quantum mechanics and metaphysics are best seen as approaches of what should be called `the metaphysics of science', which is developed by applying already existing metaphysical concepts to scientific theories. We argue that, in this perspective, metaphysics must be understood as an autonomous discipline. It results that this metaphysics cannot hope to derive any kind of justification from science. Thus, one of the main motivations of such project, which is the obtaining of a scientifically respectable justification for the attribution of a single true metaphysical profile to the posits of a scientific theory, is doomed because of the emergence of metaphysical underdetermination from the outset. If metaphysics floats free from physics, which is a premise of such project of integration between these two areas, then it is always possible to attribute more than one metaphysical profile to dress physical entities.

Bruce L. Gordon

It is often thought that idealism, which affirms that reality is mind-dependent in some relevant sense, leads to antirealism in science. This chapter argues that this common perception gets the cart before the horse. It is rather the case that realism in science, especially in regard to relativistic quantum physics and consciousness, leads to idealism – theistic quantum-informational idealism, to be precise – as the best account of the nature of reality. The chapter outlines the scientific basis for these claims and sketches the arguments for them, starting with an evaluation of the metaphysical significance of relativistic quantum physics for material identity and the character of physical law. It define three basic kinds of realism – metaphysical realism, critical epistemic realism, and critical scientific realism – and evaluate their relationship to theistic quantum-informational idealism as the metaphysical framework unifying the insights into reality that follow from quantum physics and consciousness studies.

Tim Maudlin

Raoni Wohnrath Arroyo, Jonas R. Becker Arenhart

Traditionally, to be a realist about something means believing in the independent existence of that something. In this line of thought, a scientific realist is someone who believes in the objective existence of the entities postulated by our best scientific theories. In metaphysical terms, what does that mean? In ontological terms, i.e., in terms about what exists, scientific realism can be understood as involving the adoption of an ontology that is scientifically informed. But according to some philosophers, the realistic attitude must go beyond ontology. The way in which this requirement has been understood involves providing a metaphysics for the entities postulated by science, that is, answering questions about the nature of what ontology admits to exist. We discuss how two fashionable approaches face the challenge of providing a metaphysics for science: a form of naturalism and the Viking/Toolbox approach. Finally, we present a third way, which adopts the best of both approaches: the meta-Popperian method, which focuses on discarding the wrong alternatives, or better saying, the metaphysical profiles incompatible with certain theories. We present the meta-Popperian method, a metametaphysical method capable of objectively assessing which metaphysical profiles are incompatible with certain scientific theories. For this, we will use quantum mechanics as a case study, presenting some previously obtained results. As our focus is on methodological questions about the relationship between metaphysics and science; with this method, we can see how science can be used to avoid error in metaphysical issues. In our opinion, this would be a way to develop a productive relationship between science and metaphysics.

Howard Burton, ARTUR K. EKERT