On Physics and Philosophy

518 Pages·2006·6.84 MB·English

by  Bernard d'Espagnat

ON PHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY
KL

ON PHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY
KL
Bernard d’Espagnat
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON AND OXFORD
COPYRIGHT © 2006 BY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PUBLISHED BY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, 41 WILLIAM STREET,
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY 08540
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS,
6 OXFORD STREET, WOODSTOCK, OXFORDSHIRE OX20 1TW
PRESS.PRINCETON.EDU
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN FRENCH AS TRAITÉ DE PHYSIQUE ET DE
PHILOSOPHIE BY LIBRAIRIE ARTHÉ`ME FAYARD, PARIS 2002
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PRINTING, 2006
EIGHTH PRINTING, AND FIRST PAPERBACK PRINTING, 2013
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONTROL NUMBER 2006926978
CLOTH ISBN 978- 0- 691- 11964- 9
PAPERBACK ISBN 978- 0- 691- 15806- 8
BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGING- IN- PUBLICATION DATA IS AVAILABLE
THIS BOOK HAS BEEN COMPOSED IN SABON
PRINTED ON ACID-F REE PAPER. ∞
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
9 10 8
CONTENTS
KL
PrefacetotheEnglishEdition xi
Foreword 1
PART1:PHYSICALFACTSANDRELATED
CONCEPTUALPROBLEMS
CHAPTER1
BroadOverview 13
1-1.AGeneralPicture 13
1-2.SomeUsefulDefinitions 21
CHAPTER2
OversteppingtheLimitsoftheFrameworkofFamiliarConcepts 32
2-1.Introduction 32
2-2.FromAristotle’sOntologytoDescartes’Near
RealismandGalileanOntology 32
2-3.ASmallDigressiononOntology 34
2-4.AGradualOverstepping 37
2-5.TrajectoriesandMisleading“PiecesofEvidence” 38
2-6.OntheExistenceorNonexistenceofHiddenThings:
ParticlesandDirac’sSea 41
2-7.A“Fabricated”Ontology 46
2-8.IndicationsforWhatFollows 48
CHAPTER3
NonseparabilityandBell’sTheorem 51
3-1.Correlationat-a-Distance:Bell’sTheorem 51
3-2.LocalityandtheBellTheorem 58
3-3.DiscussionandPhilosophicalImplications 71
CHAPTER4
ObjectivityandEmpiricalReality 89
4-1.StrongObjectivityandWeakObjectivity
(AliasIntersubjectivity) 89
vi CONTENTS
4-2.TheMeasurementProblemandEmpiricalReality 101
4-3.“QuantumRules”and“vonNeumann’sChain” 110
CHAPTER5
QuantumPhysicsandRealism 113
5-1.StrongObjectivityandRealism 113
5-2.IntersubjectiveAgreement 127
5-3.IntersubjectiveAgreementandEmpiricalReality 127
5-4.ConceptualGlimpses;Carnap,Quine,Primas;
RelativeOntologies 129
CHAPTER6
UniversalLawsandthe“Reality”Question 134
6-1.The“TheoreticalFramework”Notion 134
6-2.Antiuniversalismand“RealismaboutEntities” 136
6-3.“Pythagorism”(“Einsteinism”) 142
6-4.RemarksConcerningTwo“Macrorealisms” 145
6-5.QuantumMechanicsasaUniversalTheoreticalFramework 146
6-6.Antirealism 148
CHAPTER7
AntirealismandPhysics;theEinstein-Podolsky-Rosen
Problem;MethodologicalOperationalism 152
7-1.“ValueofaQuantumPhysicalQuantity”inthe
AntirealistFramework 152
7-2.Operationalism(Alias“Instrumentalism”) 156
7-3.On“Meaning”and“Prediction” 166
CHAPTER8
MeasurementandDecoherence,UniversalityRevisited 168
8-1.Introduction 168
8-2.Decoherence 177
8-3.DecoherenceandStateRobustness 189
8-4.TheEverett-ZurekSemirealistApproach 190
8-5.UniversalityRevisited 192
CHAPTER9
VariousRealistAttempts 196
9-1.Introduction 196
9-2.OnOurIntellectualCravingforRealism 196
9-3.TheBroglie-BohmApproach 199
9-4.TheSo-Called“Modal”Interpretation 206
CONTENTS vii
9-5.TheHeisenbergRepresentation:ItDoesNot,
byItself,YieldaSolution 209
9-6.Feynman’sReformulationandtheCorresponding
“FabricatedOntology” 211
9-7.A“RealismofSignification” 216
9-8.NonlinearRealistQuantumTheories 220
9-9.Outlook 222
CHAPTER10
Schro¨dinger’sCat,Wigner’sFriend,andVeiledReality 225
10-1.Introduction 225
10-2.OfPointersandCats 225
10-3.Wigner’sFriend 228
10-4.TheVeiledRealityHypothesis 236
PART2:APHILOSOPHICALANALYSIS
CHAPTER11
ScienceandPhilosophy 249
11-1.TheImpossibleSplit 249
11-2.EpistemologyintheLateTwentiethCentury 250
11-3.ACriticalGlanceatSomeClaims 255
11-4.PhysicsandLinguistics 258
11-5.Sociologism 261
11-6.TheEndofCertainties? 263
CHAPTER12
Materialisms 265
12-1.Introduction 265
12-2.DialecticalMaterialism 265
12-3.TheSo-Called“Scientific”Materialism 266
12-4.“Neomaterialism”andPhysics 272
12-5.ThePurelyPhilosophicalAspectsofNeomaterialism 276
12-6.MaterialismandWisdom 281
CHAPTER13
SuggestionsfromKantism 282
13-1.Introduction 282
13-2.ALookatKantism 282
13-3.FacingtheRefusaloftheIndependentRealityNotion 291
13-4.KantandOurContemporaries 306
viii CONTENTS
CHAPTER14
CausalityandObservationalPredictability 312
14-1.Introduction 312
14-2.CausesandLaws 312
14-3.DeterminismandCausality 315
14-4.DeterminismandChaos 316
14-5.QuantumIndeterminacy 319
14-6.PredictabilityandReliabilityRevisited 326
14-7.TheInfluenceNotionRevisited 330
CHAPTER15
ExplanationandPhenomena 333
15-1.Introduction 333
15-2.TheNotionofExplanation 333
15-3.Backtothe“ExplanatoryPowerofPredictive
Rules”Question 342
15-4.EmpiricalRealityandAbstractions,Explanation,
andEmpiricalCausality 344
15-5.TheRainbowAnalogy 347
15-6.Removingthe“ParadoxoftheDinosaurs” 351
15-7.The“FalseExplanation”Question 352
CHAPTER16
MindandThings 354
16-1.Empiricism,Positivism,andSoOn 354
16-2.Phenomenalism 355
16-3.AmbiguitiesaboutInnatism 366
16-4.Poincare´,Conventionalism,andStructuralRealism 368
CHAPTER17
Pragmatic-TranscendentalversusVeiledRealityApproaches 376
17-1.Introduction 376
17-2.RepliestoMichelBitbol’sandHerve´ Zwirn’sObjections 376
17-3.ThePragmatic-TranscendentalApproach 396
17-4.AFewNotesonZwirn’sApproach 402
CHAPTER18
ObjectsandConsciousness 405
18-1.Introduction 405
18-2.Truth:DefinitionsandCriteria 406
18-3.Objectsand“Orders,”or“Levels,”ofReality 408
18-4.AFewRemarksConcerningSensations 411
18-5.OntheQuestionofthePluralityofMinds 426
CONTENTS ix
CHAPTER19
The“GroundofThings” 429
19-1.Introduction 429
19-2.Mystery,Affectivity,andMeaning 429
19-3.DoThingsHavea“Ground”?ProandCon
ReceivedArguments 434
19-4.SomeConsequencesoftheEvolutionofPhysics 443
19-5.TheVeiledRealityConceptionReexamined 449
APPENDIX1
TheBellTheorem 465
A.Proof 465
B.ASimplifiedProof 470
C.AGlanceattheExperimentalStateofThings 473
D.HistoricalCommentsandaShortBibliography 474
APPENDIX2
ConsistentHistories,Counterfactuality,andBell’sTheorem 477
APPENDIX3
Correlation-at-a-DistanceintheBroglie-BohmModel 483
References 485
NameIndex 493
SubjectIndex 497