Soviet Studies in Philosophy

Philosophy and Physics in the Discussions between Bohr and Einstein

Р. А. Аронов, B. Ia. Pakhomov

Published Oct 1, 1986• 3 citations

Abstract

Niels Bohr was born on October 7, 1885. He was one of the great innovators in physical science in the twentieth century. It so happens that 1985 also marks fifty years since the long discussions, which had begun in the 1920s between Albert Einstein and Bohr on the philosophical problems of quantum physics, attained their apogee. An article co-authored by Einstein, B. Podolsky, and N. Rosen, "Can Quantum Mechanics Be Considered a Complete Description of Physical Reality?,"1 was published in 1935 in the journal Physical Review. According to Bohr, "by virtue of its clarity and, it would seem, flawless argumentation, the work of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen has created excitement among physicists and played a great role in the discussion of general philosophical questions of physics."2 Precisely as a result of the publication of this article, the critical position of Einstein concerning quantum mechanics became known to a broader circle of physicists. (Prior to this not many physicists had participated in the discussions.)3 In the same year, Bohr responded to Einstein and his co-authors with an article under the same title.4

DOI: 10.2753/rsp1061-1967250263

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