The Role of Reconstruction in the Elucidation of Quantum Theory *
Philip Goyal
The quantum reconstruction program seeks to uncover the deeper physical meaning of the quantum formalism by distilling its content into a set of physically graspable postulates. Once reconstructed, one can further elucidate the theory by reflecting philosophically upon the postulates rather than the inscrutable formalism in which the theory is couched. Quantum reconstruction thereby opens up a two-step strategy for developing a quantum conceptual framework that reflects the full physical content of quantum theory and can be used to establish precisely what aspects of the classical conceptual framework are retained, modified, or abandoned. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 11.2 describes the tripartite structure of classical physics, whose coherency I argue underlies its intelligibility. Section 11.3 discusses the lack of intelligibility of quantum physics, analyses the limitations of the main traditional elucidative approaches, and describes how reconstruction can remove the fundamental interpretative bottleneck. Section 11.4 discusses the methodology of reconstruction per se , showing that it is part of the natural life-cycle of physical theories, and summarizes its use in the elucidation of the theories of classical physics. Finally, circling back to quantum theory, Section 11.5 summarizes the reconstruction of quantum theory, and Section 11.6 describes some of the interpretative insights obtained thus far through interpretation of reconstructions of the abstract quantum formalism and the quantum symmetrization postulate.
Routledge eBooks•Nov 20, 2023•5 citations