While quantum mechanics has proven successful in its calculations and predictions, a debate persists regarding its understanding. This chapter considers the fundamental concepts of phenomenology and its connection to early quantum mechanics, including the exploration of quantum mechanics by F. London & E. Bauer using phenomenology. Phenomenological investigations of quantum mechanics in recent years have evolved. For instance, the informational interpretation of quantum mechanics, introduced by C. Rovelli in 1996 and advanced by Fuchs and C. M. Caves, offers a new perspective on quantum mechanics and possesses phenomenological tendencies which provide new insights into the problem of quantum measurement. Interestingly, phenomenology has its strong ties to hermeneutics. Therefore, this chapter sheds new light on quantum mechanics via hermeneutical analyses, and bridges the gap between the humanities and the natural sciences. In hermeneutics, interpretation encompasses two key aspects: Erklärung (Explanation) and Auslegung (Explication), where the former establishes clear and objective descriptions, similar to the “shuo ming” (说明) concept in Chinese, and the latter unveils deeper meanings and context, similar to the “chan shi” (阐释) concept in Chinese. The iterative process of explanation and explication plays a crucial role in the development of quantum mechanics. Hermeneutics allows us to view quantum matter with a new perspective, and new features are revealed such as “fusion of horizons” and “history of effects”, where the former is the merging of observer and observed realities in the context of quantum mechanics, while the latter means that the past, present, and future of a quantum system influence its overall reality. For this reason, the photon’s past, in the delayed-choice experiment, becomes an unfinished entity, a superposition waiting to be defined by measurement. This measurement collapses the possibilities and merges the photon’s past and present realities into a single, unified “whole”.
While quantum mechanics has proven successful in its calculations and predictions, a debate persists regarding its understanding. This chapter considers the fundamental concepts of phenomenology and its connection to early quantum mechanics, including the exploration of quantum mechanics by F. London & E. Bauer using phenomenology. Phenomenological investigations of quantum mechanics in recent years have evolved. For instance, the informational interpretation of quantum mechanics, introduced by C. Rovelli in 1996 and advanced by Fuchs and C. M. Caves, offers a new perspective on quantum mechanics and possesses phenomenological tendencies which provide new insights into the problem of quantum measurement. Interestingly, phenomenology has its strong ties to hermeneutics. Therefore, this chapter sheds new light on quantum mechanics via hermeneutical analyses, and bridges the gap between the humanities and the natural sciences. In hermeneutics, interpretation encompasses two key aspects: Erklärung (Explanation) and Auslegung (Explication), where the former establishes clear and objective descriptions, similar to the “shuo ming” (说明) concept in Chinese, and the latter unveils deeper meanings and context, similar to the “chan shi” (阐释) concept in Chinese. The iterative process of explanation and explication plays a crucial role in the development of quantum mechanics. Hermeneutics allows us to view quantum matter with a new perspective, and new features are revealed such as “fusion of horizons” and “history of effects”, where the former is the merging of observer and observed realities in the context of quantum mechanics, while the latter means that the past, present, and future of a quantum system influence its overall reality. For this reason, the photon’s past, in the delayed-choice experiment, becomes an unfinished entity, a superposition waiting to be defined by measurement. This measurement collapses the possibilities and merges the photon’s past and present realities into a single, unified “whole”.
Quantum mechanics is often perceived as conceptually paradoxical because it appears to conflict with deeply rooted intuitions about fixed reality, determinism, and observation. This paper does not propose a new physical theory. Instead, it offers an epistemological reframing of quantum mechanics: not as a direct mathematical unveiling of a fully fixed pre-existing reality, but as a highly precise description of phenomenological structures emerging through observational conditions and interaction. The paper explores: the distinction between mathematical predictive success and ontological completeness, the role of human perception in constructing “fixed reality” intuitions, the phenomenological nature of qualities such as color and temperature, the possibility that some conceptual tensions in quantum mechanics arise from assumptions inherited from macroscopic cognition, and how quantum theory may be interpreted as describing observable structures rather than fixed hidden states. The work intentionally avoids mystical, anti-scientific, or consciousness-centric interpretations of quantum mechanics. It does not deny the existence of reality, nor reject modern physics. Rather, it attempts to clarify what exactly mathematical models are describing when applied to quantum phenomena. This text is positioned as a conceptual and phenomenological reorganization of perspective — a small doorway toward reconsidering how humans frame “reality” itself.
Understanding the nature of reality has been a central theme in philosophy for centuries. Classical science presented a well-defined, deterministic view of reality as objects are governed by clear laws. However, quantum mechanics introduced a radically different perspective that suggests a “quantum reality” where particles exhibit wave-like behavior and defy classical intuitions. This chapter delves into the evolution of reality, exploring its characteristics in classical physics and its transformation in the face of quantum mechanics. One key aspect of quantum reality is the wave function, as in whether the wave function is of reality. The Copenhagen interpretation posits that the wave function is a probabilistic tool, rather than a description of the real state of microscopic particles. However, the fundamental principles of quantum control and the very objects it manipulates challenge this view. By directly or indirectly influencing the wave function, quantum control techniques provide compelling evidence for its quantum reality. The PBR theorem suggests that the wave function reflects a real physical state, not merely a mathematical tool. This chapter argues that the wave function is of the “reality of relative entity-structure”. In addition, the “quantum Cheshire cat” experiment further highlights the unusual nature of quantum reality, which shares some connections with the concept of “Tao” in Chinese Taoism that suggests that everything arises from a fundamental nothingness that itself is real. Quantum technology brings forth a “quantum technological reality” characterized by new properties and applications.
This is the first volume that focuses specifically on phenomenological approaches to quantum mechanics. It is also the first volume focusing on the philosophical implications of QBism. This coincidence is not accidental. Phenomenology's rich potential for our understanding of quantum mechanics has long been overlooked by analytic philosophers and phenomenologists alike. The experience-first approach of phenomenology, its descriptive methodology, and Husserl's critique of mathematization do not sit well with “mainstream” analytic philosophy of physics. But as this volume will demonstrate, it sits nicely with the basic tenets of QBism. Conversely, QBism constitutes the most consistent and best-developed interpretation of quantum mechanics that fully embraces the Bohrian idea that a proper understanding of science must be based on the concept of experience. However, since its inception in the early 2000s, QBism has struggled to connect with the philosophical community. Not only are the underlying intuitions shaping and dominating contemporary philosophy of quantum mechanics—namely, that a scientific theory must be purged of all subjective and operational notions such as “experience” or “measurement” and that, consequently, a successful approach to quantum mechanics must be formulated as a “quantum theory without observers”—at odds with QBism. It seems that sometimes the incommensurability already starts at the level of the basic conceptual framework which, in the case of mainstream analytic philosophy, is not very well suited to express some of QBism's main tenets. Considering this situation, the main hypothesis of this volume is that phenomenology and QBism are natural bedfellows, and that both can profit from mutual exchange. In order to make this exchange as profitable as possible, the aim of this introductory chapter is to identify, clarify, and motivate some of the cornerstones of phenomenological approaches to quantum mechanics, to shed light on the main ideas and virtues of QBism, and to discuss points of contact and points of possible conflict between these two projects.
Following the first and second quantum revolutions, quantum information theory has expanded beyond the field of physics into numerous other interdisciplinary areas. This book provides a comprehensive philosophical exploration of quantum mechanics and quantum information. The author examines key concepts such as quantum reality, quantum entanglement, quantum information, the quantum world, quantum computing, and quantum matter, while also extending quantum mechanical theory to encompass phenomenology, hermeneutics, and trans- empirical philosophy. Drawing on Kant’s transcendental idealism and neo- Kantianism, the author introduces the concept of “trans-empirical”— that which transcends experience without abandoning it and which, in fact, enables it. The book skillfully demonstrates how trans- empirical reality and cognition offer valuable analytical frameworks for contemporary quantum philosophy. This work will appeal to scholars and graduate students in various disciplines, including the philosophy of science and technology, analytical philosophy, the philosophy of language, phenomenology, and hermeneutics.
The foundations of quantum mechanics have been a subject of intense investigation and debate since the theory's inception. Recent developments in quantum technologies and theoretical frameworks have shed new light on foundational issues and raised intriguing questions about the nature of reality at the quantum level. recent advancements in our understanding of the foundational principles of quantum mechanics and discuss unresolved questions that continue to challenge our conceptual framework. Topics of interest include the measurement problem, quantum entanglement, the role of contextuality and nonlocality, interpretations of quantum theory, and the quest for a unified theory of quantum gravity. findings and ongoing debates in the field, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research in the foundations of quantum mechanics and stimulate further discussion and inquiry into these fundamental questions.
An overview of the conceptuality interpretation of quantum mechanics is presented, along with an explanation of how it sheds light on key quantum and relativistic phenomena. In particular, we show how the interpretation clarifies Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, wave function-based and entanglement-based non-locality, interference effects resulting from the superposition principle, delayed choice experiments, quantum measurements, the mechanism of quantization, the reason why entities can establish entanglement bonds and the statistical behaviour of indistinguishable entities. We further argue that the interpretation can also elucidate relativistic effects, focusing on time dilation. Finally, we suggest that it can provide a novel and challenging perspective on evolution. This article is the second in a two-part series devoted to exploring this promising approach to reality. The first part, which serves as a companion to this discussion, outlines the intellectual trajectory leading from the first applications of quantum notions to human cognition to the bold rethinking suggested by the conceptuality interpretation.This article is part of the theme issue 'Quantum theory and topology in models of decision making (Part 1)'.