Abstract The paper attempts to critically consider the transfer of some inspiring concepts taken from holistic interpretations of quantum mechanics to the field of biophysics. This mainly concerns the concepts of “holonomy”, “implicate order” and “explicate order”, as well as “becoming” by physicist David Bohm. The deep historicity of all biological events, their processual, or more specific, evolutionary, and constructive character compels to reformulate concepts in the framework of biophysics.
Abstract The paper attempts to critically consider the transfer of some inspiring concepts taken from holistic interpretations of quantum mechanics to the field of biophysics. This mainly concerns the concepts of “holonomy”, “implicate order” and “explicate order”, as well as “becoming” by physicist David Bohm. The deep historicity of all biological events, their processual, or more specific, evolutionary, and constructive character compels to reformulate concepts in the framework of biophysics.
The penetration of quantum concepts into biological science, which began shortly after the creation of quantum mechanics, over the past two decades has taken shape in a new interdisciplinary scientific discipline quantum biology. One of the key questions of quantum biology has been formulated as follows: are there biological systems that use quantum effects to perform a task that cannot be done classically? More broadly, do some kinds of organisms adapt efficient quantum mechanisms in the process of their evolutionary development in order to gain an advantage over their competitors? The range of topical problems of the new discipline discussed in this brief review includes questions of a general, historical and methodological character, and generalizes some theoretical models aimed at describing quantum processes, including bacterialphotosynthesis, bird magnetoreception, and the mechanism of olfactory sense in living organisms.
David Bohm (1917-93) was a highly original and individual physicist. His novel ideas and profound intuition extended not only to the physical world but also to the nature of consciousness and society. Bohm regarded science as having become essentially fragmented in its approach to understanding physical reality and sought a more holistic physics based on order, transformation and flowing movement. His notion of an implicate order provides an unusual and exciting challenge for both teachers and students alike.
Although David Bohm's interpretation of quantum mechanics is sometimes thought to be a kind of regression towards classical thinking, it is in fact an extremely radical metaphysics of nature. The view goes far beyond the familiar but perennially peculiar non-locality and entanglement of quantum systems. In this paper, a philosophical exploration, I examine three core features of Bohm's metaphysical views, which have been both supported by features of quantum mechanics and integrated into a comprehensive system. These are the holistic nature of the world, the role of a unique kind of information as the ontological basis of the world, and the integration of mentality into this basis as an essential and irreducible aspect of it.
Abstract The paper investigates David Bohm’s philosophy of science as a form of fallibilist realism that underpins his causal interpretation of quantum mechanics Bohm (Bohm 1952a, 1952b, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990; Bohm and Hiley 1975, 1984, 1993). Bohm’s central aim is to establish the superiority of his interpretation over the standard Copenhagen framework, particularly in contrast to that of Niels Bohr. Whereas Bohr asserts that knowledge of quantum phenomena is restricted to the statistical outcomes of measurement, Bohm’s approach is distinctly realist in orientation. Responding to the challenges posed by Einstein and other physicists, Bohm relies on extra-empirical criteria such as determinism, objectivity and intelligibility. The paper develops what will be termed the methodology of intuitive intelligibility (II), consisting of four stages: (1) reformulation of the standard quantum equations, (2) physical interpretation of the mathematical symbols, (3) drawing analogies with classical laws, and (4) drawing analogies with common experience. It is argued that Bohm applies the (II) methodology consistently, with the notable exception of the ontological status of the wave function and quantum potential. In attempting to explain causal relations from a 3N-dimensional configuration space (where N is the number of particles) to familiar three-dimensional space through an appeal to ‘information’, Bohm arguably commits a category mistake. A proposed resolution—drawing on Bohm’s own holistic analogies—is supported by the recent multi-field interpretation (Romano Multi-field and Bohm’s theory. Synthese, 198(30), 10587–10609, 2021). The term fallibilist realism aptly characterizes Bohm’s stance in the philosophy of science: he repeatedly emphasizes that the causal interpretation is not intended as a final theory. Nevertheless, holism constitutes a substantive ontological commitment that he is unwilling to abandon.
My claim is that among the various attempts at giving a metaphysical representation of the physical world, Bohm’s holographic paradigm is powerfully explanatory and deserves consideration. The central notion of this paradigm is the order as intrinsically related to any scientific theory. In particular, the order characterizing this new paradigm finds its exemplification in the hologram. The hologram, indeed, reveals interesting features: first of all, when suitably illuminated, it shows a construction of two different levels of order, an implicate one and an explicate one, which, however, give rise to a general whole unbroken order; moreover, each part of the hologram contains the information of all the other parts revealing again an unbroken wholeness. I will disclose this new concept of order, following Bohm’s suggestion, both from a metaphysical and a mathematical perspective. In particular, I will show that the passage between one kind of order to the other is accomplished by a holomovement that consists of continuous unfoldment and enfoldment and that is well represented by the Green function and some algebraic transformations. Afterwards I will explain why this hologram paradigm is explanatory, especially dealing with the problem of nonlocality due to quantum entanglement and the quantum-classical divide. Finally I will claim that even though this view has been regarded as superficial and detached from reality, its explanatory power and its mathematical description should not be overlooked. My conclusion will therefore state that the order developed by Bohm could be considered a good start to create a new theory able to rightly address and solve the challenging problems of the quantum world.
David Bohm was a major twentieth-century theoretical physicist. His scientific work concerned plasma and the foundations of quantum mechanics and, connected to his scientific work, Bohm was deeply interested in the philosophy of science and psychological studies. Bohm’s influence on psychology derived more from his philosophical writings than from his scientific works. This paper considers both of Bohm’s works while distinguishing them. This is further necessary because anyone intending to work on Bohm’s legacy needs to develop his un-consensual ideas further. This paper makes a brief and non-technical description of Bohm’s works in physics and his philosophical views, related to the idea of wholeness and the implicate order, which includes his incursions in psychology. It ends with some caveats about the better extension of his reflections.