
Metaphysicians should pay attention to quantum mechanics. Why? Not because it provides definitive answers to many metaphysical questions-the theory itself is remarkably silent on the nature of the physical world, and the various interpretations of the theory on offer present conflicting ontological pictures. Rather, quantum mechanics is essential to the metaphysician because it reshapes standard metaphysical debates and opens up unforeseen new metaphysical possibilities. Even if quantum mechanics provides few clear answers, there are good reasons to think that any adequate understanding of the quantum world will result in a radical reshaping of our classical world-view in some way or other. Whatever the world is like at the atomic scale, it is almost certainly not the swarm of particles pushed around by forces that is often presupposed. This book guides readers through the theory of quantum mechanics and its implications for metaphysics in a clear and accessible way. The theory and its various interpretations are presented with a minimum of technicality. The consequences of these interpretations for metaphysical debates concerning realism, indeterminacy, causation, determinism, holism, and individuality (among other topics) are explored in detail, stressing the novel form that the debates take given the empirical facts in the quantum domain. While quantum mechanics may not deliver unconditional pronouncements on these issues, the range of possibilities consistent with our knowledge of the empirical world is relatively small-and each possibility is metaphysically revisionary in some way. This book will appeal to researchers, students, and anybody else interested in how science informs our world-view.
This book investigates how the empirical findings of quantum mechanics necessitate a fundamental revision of classical metaphysical frameworks. Author Peter J. Lewis, a philosopher specializing in the foundations of physics, argues that while quantum theory remains silent on definitive ontological truths, its various interpretations force a re-evaluation of traditional concepts such as causation, determinism, and individuality. By stripping away excessive technical jargon, the text provides a bridge between complex physical theory and abstract philosophical inquiry.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts and students frequently cite this work as a highly accessible entry point for those lacking a deep background in theoretical physics. Readers note that the prose maintains academic rigor while successfully demystifying the intersection of quantum phenomena and metaphysical debate.
Page Count:
207
Publication Date:
2016-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190618795
ISBN-13:
9780190618797
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