Context This working paper is part of a larger research programme connecting quantum physics and social subjectivity through a common logical foundation (Sorkin's anhomomorphic logic). It serves as Example 1 in a conceptual framework titled "Emergent Time: From Quantum Physics to Social Subjectivity" (Timofeev, 2025). Motivation The systematic divergence between Russian state-affiliated and independent polling organizations (consistently 5-20 percentage points, peaking at 15-25 p.p. during political crises) provides a natural experiment for testing quantum-logical properties in social measurement. Unlike Western polling discrepancies attributed to sampling or methodology, the Russian case demonstrates observer-dependent collapse: the identity of the measuring organization fundamentally determines the measured outcome. Theoretical Framework Drawing on: Sorkin (1994): Anhomomorphic logic as meta-structure for contextual systems Dzhafarov & Kujala (2012): Contextuality-by-Default model Stephenson (1953) & Brown (1980): Q-methodology as operationalization of quantum logic Bourdieu (1972): Symbolic violence and habitus formation Empirical Basis Uses publicly available aggregated data from 10 verified sources (Levada Center, VCIOM, Reuters, Carnegie Endowment, Statista, etc.) covering 2018-2025, documenting systematic patterns across: 2018 Pension Reform crisis 2019 VCIOM methodology change (closed vs open questions) 2022 Ukraine invasion ("Special Military Operation") 2023-2025 stabilization period Three-Level Analysis Classical level: Political manipulation through sampling bias and question wording Non-classical level: Exploitation of fundamental contextual properties (superposition, collapse) Epistemological level: Masking constitutive measurement as "scientific discovery" Implications Methodological: Classical survey methodology inadequate for sensitive political contexts Philosophical: "Public opinion" may not exist as determinate entity prior to measurement (supporting Bourdieu's 1972 thesis "l'opinion publique n'existe pas") Political: Authoritarian regimes intuitively exploit quantum-logical properties for reality construction Empirical: Proposes falsifiable test via Bell-CHSH inequalities (requires microdata access) Limitations Based on aggregated public data, not individual-level microdata CHSH inequality test remains theoretical proposal, not conducted Culturally specific to Russian political context (generalizability requires cross-national replication) Alternative classical explanations (sampling bias, social desirability) not fully ruled out without microdata Intended Audience Quantum social science researchers Survey methodologists Political sociologists studying authoritarianism Philosophers of social science Q-methodology practitioners
Context This working paper is part of a larger research programme connecting quantum physics and social subjectivity through a common logical foundation (Sorkin's anhomomorphic logic). It serves as Example 1 in a conceptual framework titled "Emergent Time: From Quantum Physics to Social Subjectivity" (Timofeev, 2025). Motivation The systematic divergence between Russian state-affiliated and independent polling organizations (consistently 5-20 percentage points, peaking at 15-25 p.p. during political crises) provides a natural experiment for testing quantum-logical properties in social measurement. Unlike Western polling discrepancies attributed to sampling or methodology, the Russian case demonstrates observer-dependent collapse: the identity of the measuring organization fundamentally determines the measured outcome. Theoretical Framework Drawing on: Sorkin (1994): Anhomomorphic logic as meta-structure for contextual systems Dzhafarov & Kujala (2012): Contextuality-by-Default model Stephenson (1953) & Brown (1980): Q-methodology as operationalization of quantum logic Bourdieu (1972): Symbolic violence and habitus formation Empirical Basis Uses publicly available aggregated data from 10 verified sources (Levada Center, VCIOM, Reuters, Carnegie Endowment, Statista, etc.) covering 2018-2025, documenting systematic patterns across: 2018 Pension Reform crisis 2019 VCIOM methodology change (closed vs open questions) 2022 Ukraine invasion ("Special Military Operation") 2023-2025 stabilization period Three-Level Analysis Classical level: Political manipulation through sampling bias and question wording Non-classical level: Exploitation of fundamental contextual properties (superposition, collapse) Epistemological level: Masking constitutive measurement as "scientific discovery" Implications Methodological: Classical survey methodology inadequate for sensitive political contexts Philosophical: "Public opinion" may not exist as determinate entity prior to measurement (supporting Bourdieu's 1972 thesis "l'opinion publique n'existe pas") Political: Authoritarian regimes intuitively exploit quantum-logical properties for reality construction Empirical: Proposes falsifiable test via Bell-CHSH inequalities (requires microdata access) Limitations Based on aggregated public data, not individual-level microdata CHSH inequality test remains theoretical proposal, not conducted Culturally specific to Russian political context (generalizability requires cross-national replication) Alternative classical explanations (sampling bias, social desirability) not fully ruled out without microdata Intended Audience Quantum social science researchers Survey methodologists Political sociologists studying authoritarianism Philosophers of social science Q-methodology practitioners
This working paper proposes a three-level emergent architecture of social time, describing the transition from timeless informational potentiality through a subjective dimension to collective temporality. Drawing upon Sorkin's anhomomorphic logic and Q-methodology, we argue that social time arises not through the summation of individual states (the classical model), but through the coherence of contextual subjective collapses (the non-classical model). Each level—Information, Measurement/Subjectivity, and Social Time—represents a distinct ontological and logical regime, where transitions are governed by acts of measurement and collective synchronisation. This framework challenges the additive-commutative assumptions of classical sociology, positing social temporality as an emergent effect of non-local, context-dependent interactions. The paper operationalises key sociological concepts—Bourdieu's habitus, Giddens's structuration, and Emirbayer & Mische's temporal agency—through the three-level architecture, demonstrating that these are different manifestations of a single fundamental process: the decoherence of the social. Empirical analysis of Russian public opinion dynamics during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine reveals systematic anomalies in classical explanations (rally effect, fear of repression, propaganda), which are predicted a priori by the quantum coherence model. The paper proposes specific empirical tests for discriminating between classical and non-classical models, including violations of Bell-CHSH inequalities in social correlations. This work is part of a broader research programme connecting the emergence of time in quantum gravity with the emergence of social time through a common logical foundation.
Most behavioural and social experiments aimed at revealing contextuality are confined to cyclic systems with binary outcomes. In quantum physics, this broad class of systems includes as special cases Klyachko-Can-Binicioglu-Shumovsky-type, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bell-type and Suppes-Zanotti-Leggett-Garg-type systems. The theory of contextuality known as contextuality-by-default allows one to define and measure contextuality in all such systems, even if there are context-dependent errors in measurements, or if something in the contexts directly interacts with the measurements. This makes the theory especially suitable for behavioural and social systems, where direct interactions of 'everything with everything' are ubiquitous. For cyclic systems with binary outcomes, the theory provides necessary and sufficient conditions for non-contextuality, and these conditions are known to be breached in certain quantum systems. We review several behavioural and social datasets (from polls of public opinion to visual illusions to conjoint choices to word combinations to psychophysical matching), and none of these data provides any evidence for contextuality. Our working hypothesis is that this may be a broadly applicable rule: behavioural and social systems are non-contextual, i.e. all 'contextual effects' in them result from the ubiquitous dependence of response distributions on the elements of contexts other than the ones to which the response is presumably or normatively directed.
This work proposes a conceptual framework linking the emergence of time in quantum gravity with the emergence of social time through a shared logical foundation. In physics, loop quantum gravity and causal set theory demonstrate the absence of time at the fundamental level. Extending this perspective to social reality through Q-methodology, the study operationalizes quantum-like logical features — contextuality, non-commutativity, superposition, and collapse — in the analysis of subjectivity. Drawing on Sorkin’s anhomomorphic logic, we identify a structural isomorphism between physical and social informational processes. The framework advances three empirically testable predictions concerning order effects in Q-sorting, interference patterns in meaning evaluations, and potential violations of Bell-type inequalities in social correlations. It argues that social time emerges from communicative networks rather than individual consciousness, addressing objections related to decoherence, category errors, and the transition from individual to collective phenomena. Acknowledging alternative formalisms (GTR, HMI) and unresolved empirical questions, the paper positions its approach as a form of cautious realism — a falsifiable hypothesis with concrete tests.
The focus of the article is the question of the nature of contextuality in quantum phenomena. What underlies it: normative procedures of description dictated by rules and language, or is reality itself structured procedurally? At the core of Igor Prisyazhnuk's contextual quantum realism lies the distinction between the ideal and the real. Quantum uncertainty is interpreted by him as a situation where the rule has not yet been applied to the object, and the measurement context merely creates conditions in which the object can be identified. This allows for the avoidance of both subjectivism and flat objectivism, while maintaining the conception of a reality that objectively exists, yet is sensitive to context. Prisyazhnuk draws a line between sequential contextualism (the Bohr-Benoit line) and what he calls ontological correlationalism, classifying the latter under agency realism by Karen Barad. The methodology is based on a comparative analysis of two philosophical traditions concerning quantum contextuality. First, the foundations of each position and key concepts are reconstructed to reveal the divergence: Prisyazhnuk's categorical dualism versus Simondonian ontogenesis. Then this divergence is tested against the material of quantum uncertainty and entanglement. The goal is to understand which strategy more consistently explains the nature of quantum reality, avoiding relativism and anthropocentrism. The comparison is made along three parameters: the relationship between reality and its description, the status of the subject and norms, and the explanatory power of the conceptual apparatus in the context of experimental data. Viewing this through the lens of Simondon reveals a different ontological perspective. Quantum contextuality ceases to be a relation between norm and reality; it becomes a phase of individuation. The measurement situation appears not as the application of a rule, but as the resolution of a metastable state. In this state, the system and the instrument do not yet exist separately; they exist in an inseparable potential being, and only in the act of measurement do their outlines emerge. The comparison of the two approaches raises questions about ontological depth. Does Prisyazhnuk's normative structure provide the tools necessary to explain quantum entanglement and the emergence of the world, or does the Simondonian model, with its transduction, metastability, and associated environment, offer a more coherent description of the formation of a quantum event, avoiding anthropocentrism?
Quantum computing introduces a transformative approach to social science research by integrating quantum probability models into social interaction experiments. This study examines the effects of quantum superposition, measurement-induced state collapse, and interference on decision-making processes. Compared to classical probability models, quantum approaches offer a more accurate representation of cognitive uncertainty, preference reversals, and contextual dependencies. The research highlights the advantages of quantum measurement in survey design, behavioral analysis, and policy simulations. However, challenges remain, including the limitations of current quantum hardware, the interdisciplinary gap between quantum mechanics and social sciences, and ethical concerns regarding data security and experimental manipulation. Future research should focus on refining quantum experimental methodologies, enhancing computational capabilities, and developing ethical guidelines for quantum-driven social science applications. By addressing these challenges, quantum computing can provide new theoretical insights and practical advancements in understanding human behavior and collective decision-making.
Our everyday experiences support the hypothesis that physical systems exist independently of the act of observation. Concordant theories are characterized by the objective realism assumption whereby the act of measurement simply reveals preexisting well defined elements of reality. In stark contrast quantum mechanics portrays a world in which reality loses its objectivity and is in fact created by observation. Quantum contextuality as first discovered by Bell [Rev. Mod. Phys. 38, 447 (1966)] and Kochen-Specker [J. Math. Mech. 17, 59 (1967)] captures aspects of this philosophical clash between classical and quantum descriptions of the world. Here we briefly summarize some of the more recent advances in the field of quantum contextuality. We approach quantum contextuality through its close relation to Bell type nonlocal scenarios and highlight some of the rapidly developing tests and experimental implementations.