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Quantum Philosophy: Many Worlds and Mind Over Matter

By Tara Sullivan
BellaOnline's Philosophy Editor

Quantum Physics is one of the most baffling discoveries of the last century. Many interpretations of the experimental data have been proposed and will be proposed as to its meaning. Flying in the face of classical physics, quantum physics has been trying to explain itself ever since it came into the forefront of the scientific community. Classical physics mostly devised the rules of the macro-world, when scientific measurement became increasingly smaller, the scientific community was astounded to realize that the quantum world did not abide by classical deterministic rules. A brief overview of some of the issues
will be discussed and the many-worlds interpretation will ultimately be supported, in tandem with the evidence for decoherence. Conscious thought will be held to be a form of decoherence which ultimately has a causal effect on the quantum level.

In order to understand the nature of reality and the interaction between mind and matter it is necessary to study the metaphysical implications of quantum physics. The dual nature of reality on a microscopic level causes one to wonder if the macroscopic world is not also as it appears. Given that objects at a macroscopic level, such as tables, chairs,oranges, human beings, etc. are made up of microscopic objects (ie. protons, electrons, quarks, etc.), it is reasonable to think that all matter would share physical properties of its microscopic constituents. It may be that macroscopic objects do not have to exhibit a waveparticle duality because this is a behavior which is confined to electrons, but the fact that an observation of an electron’s dual nature effects the state it presents in is inescapable. The relationship of the micro-world to the macro-world is not necessarily one of direct analogy.

But assuming both empirically and intuitively that macroscopic bodies are constituted ofincreasing smaller constituents, assumes that the relations and properties of these constituents will affect the relations and properties of the macro-body in which they play an integral role.

The superficial properties of a table, such as type of wood, color, pattern of the wood grain, how it is varnished or painted are directly linked to the chemical composition of its smaller constituents, and chemical composition is constituted of number of electrons, and states, etc. Color is determined by wavelength reflected, this is empirically and scientifically accepted dogma. So, the interrelationship between microscopic and macroscopic is established.

In a quantum experiment, a stream of electrons when observed will either present itself as a wave function or, if an electron is observed it will present itself as a particle. As soon as the particle is observed by a scientist, the wave function which was previously observed will disappear. Furthermore, it was found that the location where the particle is seen can be determined probabilistically. This was an astounding discovery almost a century ago, because prior to these discoveries it was generally thought that the nature of the physical world could be determined through classical physics. So, this probabilistic nature of the
position of the electron was termed “indeterminacy.”

One feature of indeterminacy is that the state of the electron depends on whether or not it is observed. When an electron is in wave form, it could be in all locations at once, but once observed it collapses into one world, which is probabilistically determined. The fact that the electron’s position is only probable, makes it possible to observe it in locations where one would have no reason to think it might be.

Einstein, for one, did not accept that quantum theory was a complete theory. His
famous words, “God doesn’t play dice,” succinctly describe his resistance to the
seemingly absurd idea that physical reality on the quantum level could be left up to chance. Einstein, and others became proponents of a hidden variables theory of quantum measurement. Surely, this reduction of the measurement problem into a matter of statistics must be because of the crude limitations of our measuring devices or senses, or both? It seems logical that there would be variables that were unaccounted for.

But the uncertainty principle persisted. It became apparent that indeterminacy was not going away, and the philosophical implications were articulated through many interpretations of the quantum measurement data. The Copenhagen interpretation was developed by Neils Bohr who posited two versions to explain the quantum measurement problem. Nick Herbert, in Quantum Reality says of the first revelation of this interpretation: “No one has influenced more our notions of what the quantum world is really about than Danish physicist Neils Bohr, and it is Bohr who puts forth one of quantum physics most outrageous claims: that there is no deep reality. Bohr does not deny the evidence of his senses. The world we see around us is real enough, he affirms, but it floats on a world that is not as real.” (p. 16) The implication of this interpretation is anti-realist, to say the least. There is no underlying structure to phenomena, but only abstract possibility. If everything we experience is built upon a foundation of abstract possibility then how do we explain the coherence of classical mechanics and our solid experience of matter in the macro-world?

SOURCE: Bella Online

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