Reconstructing Quantum Ontology: A Counterfactual Philosophical and Physical Paradigm Study of Quantum Mechanics Based on the Law of Coexisting Mutually Exclusive Descriptions
In the late 1920s, Niels Bohr’s "Principle of Complementarity" became a cornerstone of the Copenhagen interpretation, asserting that the wave and particle aspects of micro-entities are mutually exclusive yet complementary properties manifested under distinct experimental arrangements. However, this classical-bound formulation inadvertently entangled quantum physics in a century-long ontological debate over what a microscopic system "really is." This paper presents a counterfactual historical and philosophical critique: had Bohr bypassed the binary framing of wave-particle duality and instead posited the Law of Coexisting Mutually Exclusive Descriptions—which dictates that a single physical system fundamentally possesses multiple, irreducible, and mutually exclusive descriptions simultaneously—the foundational paradigm of quantum mechanics would have undergone a decisive transformation. Under this proposed paradigm, the focus of quantum physics shifts from seeking a singular underlying "substance" to mapping how non-commutative, coexisting descriptions collectively construct physical reality. We demonstrate how this law redefines the quantum measurement problem, dissolves the misconception of "uncertainty" as an inherent ontological vagueness, and provides a unified conceptual framework for quantum entanglement and emergent spacetime in modern field theory. Ultimately, this work establishes a non-reductionist "Multitudinous Description Realism" that offers a clearer conceptual tool for contemporary quantum foundations and quantum information science.
In the late 1920s, Niels Bohr’s "Principle of Complementarity" became a cornerstone of the Copenhagen interpretation, asserting that the wave and particle aspects of micro-entities are mutually exclusive yet complementary properties manifested under distinct experimental arrangements. However, this classical-bound formulation inadvertently entangled quantum physics in a century-long ontological debate over what a microscopic system "really is." This paper presents a counterfactual historical and philosophical critique: had Bohr bypassed the binary framing of wave-particle duality and instead posited the Law of Coexisting Mutually Exclusive Descriptions—which dictates that a single physical system fundamentally possesses multiple, irreducible, and mutually exclusive descriptions simultaneously—the foundational paradigm of quantum mechanics would have undergone a decisive transformation. Under this proposed paradigm, the focus of quantum physics shifts from seeking a singular underlying "substance" to mapping how non-commutative, coexisting descriptions collectively construct physical reality. We demonstrate how this law redefines the quantum measurement problem, dissolves the misconception of "uncertainty" as an inherent ontological vagueness, and provides a unified conceptual framework for quantum entanglement and emergent spacetime in modern field theory. Ultimately, this work establishes a non-reductionist "Multitudinous Description Realism" that offers a clearer conceptual tool for contemporary quantum foundations and quantum information science.
This paper explores a thought experiment: what would physics look like if quantum mechanics had not originated in the early 20th century from the exploration of the physical properties of microscopic particles (such as blackbody radiation and the particle and wave nature of electron orbits), but had instead been established first as a dynamics and probability theory about "physical measurement" itself? Through extrapolation from this historical turning point, this paper reconstructs a theoretical framework centered on "measurement dynamics," not on "particles," "wave functions," or "quantum fields" as fundamental ontology, but on a trinity of "system-measuring instrument-observer." Research shows that under this paradigm, the "measurement problem" is no longer a philosophical dilemma added after the theory's establishment, but rather the logical starting point for its construction; wave functions and quantum fields are relegated to derivative mathematical tools for calculating measurement probability distributions. This paper elaborates on the dynamics of measurement operators, the law of information evolution, and a systematic critique of counterfactual definiteness under this paradigm, providing a new and unified perspective for re-examining the fundamental interpretation of modern quantum mechanics.
The foundation of quantum mechanics in the early twentieth century marked a paradigm shift in our understanding of nature. In the historical trajectory, Erwin Schrödinger introduced the wave equation to describe micro-particles, but Max Born's subsequent probabilistic interpretation—defining the squared modulus of the wavefunction as a probability density—became the cornerstone of the Copenhagen interpretation, embedding intrinsic randomness into physical ontology. This paper investigates a counterfactual historical proposition: What if Schrödinger had firmly rejected the probabilistic interpretation at the outset and instead proposed that "the wavefunction is not a probability distribution, but the minimal mathematical encoding of physical reality"? We construct the ontological and mathematical-philosophical framework of "Compressed Reality Theory" (CRT), tracing how this alternative historical path would have accelerated the early development of quantum information, holographic principles, and quantum gravity. Under this paradigm, the central inquiry of physics shifts from "Where is the particle?" to "How much information is required to fully describe a reality?" By resolving the measurement paradox as a deterministic decompression mechanism rather than a subjective collapse, this thought experiment demonstrates how an information-centric ontology provides a unified, continuous, and deterministic picture bridging quantum phenomena and spacetime geometry.
Recent high-precision experimental confirmations of quantum complementarity have revitalized foundational debates about measurement, description, and realism. This article argues that complementarity is most productively interpreted as an epistemic principle--constraining what can be simultaneously accessed and represented--rather than as an ontological claim about quantum reality. Reexamining the Einstein-Bohr debate through this lens reveals a persistent tension between descriptive completeness and contextual meaning, a tension experiments clarify but do not dissolve. Building on this analysis, we introduce cognitive complementarity as a structural principle governing reasoning under non-classical uncertainty, where mutually constraining representations cannot be jointly optimized. Within this framework, we propose quantum intuition as a testable cognitive capacity: the ability to sustain representational plurality, regulate commitment timing, and resolve perspective-incompatibilities in a context-sensitive manner. Formulated as a naturalistic construct grounded in shared informational constraints, quantum intuition offers a principled bridge between quantum measurement theory and cognition. This work reframes the historical debate, extends epistemic lessons from quantum foundations into cognitive science, and outlines empirical pathways for studying decision-making in contexts of irreducible uncertainty.
Abstract: For over a century, quantum mechanics has operated within an ontological void. While its mathematical formalism achieves unprecedented predictive success, the question of what actually exists remains unresolved. This paper proposes a radical ontological reformation: reality is not a singular spacetime continuum inhabited by particles, but rather an overlapping multiplicity of independent spatial manifolds—each carried by what we call an "observer" or material center. This single postulate, the Separated Universes Theory (SUT), dissolves three major philosophical crises in modern physics: the mystery of measurement, the paradox of non-locality, and the abandonment of determinism. By redefining locality within shared spatial manifolds, we demonstrate that Einstein’s core intuitions—realism and causality—can be fully reconciled with quantum phenomena without the need for "spooky action at a distance." This work seeks to provide the missing metaphysical foundation that physics has lacked since the Copenhagen capitulation, restoring the intelligibility of nature through a new geometric-energetic framework.
Foundational attitudes towards quantum theory have recently thrown off much of the old philosophical baggage largely associated with Niels Bohr to which Einstein famously objected, including the central ‘collapse of the wavefunction’ concept. A ‘neo-Copenhagen’ interpretation, it is suggested, has arisen. This development is placed in its historical context and contrasted to philosophical allegations of anti-realism. The neo-Copenhagen interpretation remains wedded to Heisenberg's uncertainty and observer-dependent values of particles. However a discussion of Nick Herbert's ‘rainbow analogy’ suggests that subatomic particles are emergent from a ‘nonlocal’ level of reality outside the domain of space and time. Critical realism recognizes that emergent systems have an irreducibly ontologically character, and in its combination of epistemological relativism and ontological realism, provides a basis for the proposition that realists who support Einstein's objections must now recognize that their realism must be redefined.
This study proposes a counterfactual history and theoretical model of physics: assuming that Albert Einstein in the early 20th century had not prioritized the spacetime variability hypotheses of special and general relativity, but instead adopted the axiom that "an observer possesses no independent physical identity," thereby establishing "Relational Physicality." Within this framework, measurement outcomes are strictly defined as the state of interaction between the observer and the measured system, rather than intrinsic properties inherent to the measured system itself. This paper demonstrates that when the "observer" is demoted to an inseparable part of a physical system, the spatiotemporal relativity of special relativity and the measurement collapse problem of quantum mechanics can be consistently explained within a unified logical scheme. Physical facts are no longer objective realities independent of observational relations, but rather manifest representations of relational states among physical entities. This theoretical paradigm not only reconstructs the evolutionary path from classical to modern physics, but also provides a novel philosophical and physical foundation for unifying relativity and quantum mechanics.