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arXiv2019

A philosophical argument against time machines

Time machines are predictions of Einstein's theory of general relativity and provide a myriad of unsolved paradoxes. Convincing and general arguments against time machines and their paradoxes are missing in physics and philosophy so far. In this article, a philosophical argument against time machines is given. When thought of as a process, individuation refuses the idea of time machines, in particular travels into the past. With the aid of Nietzsche-Heraclitus' philosophy of becoming and Simondon's notion of process of individuation, I propose that time machines are modern fables, created by the man of $\textit{ressentiment}$. In the $\textit{amor fati}$ formula of Nietzsche, I suggest the antipode to time machines.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2017

Free Will in the Theory of Everything

From what is known today about the elementary particles of matter, and the forces that control their behavior, it may be observed that still a host of obstacles must be overcome that are standing in the way of further progress of our understanding. Most researchers conclude that drastically new concepts must be investigated, new starting points are needed, older structures and theories, in spite of their successes, will have to be overthrown, and new, superintelligent questions will have to be asked and investigated. In short, they say that we shall need new physics. Here, we argue in a different manner. Today, no prototype, or toy model, of any so-called Theory of Everything exists, because the demands required of such a theory appear to be conflicting. The demands that we propose include locality, special and general relativity, together with a fundamental finiteness not only of the forces and amplitudes, but also of the set of Nature's dynamical variables. We claim that the two remaining ingredients that we have today, Quantum Field Theory and General Relativity, indeed are coming a long way towards satisfying such elementary requirements. Putting everything together in a Grand Synthesis is like solving a gigantic puzzle. We argue that we need the correct analytical tools to solve this puzzle. Finally, it seems to be obvious that this solution will give room neither for "Divine Intervention", nor for "Free Will", an observation that, all by itself, can be used as a clue. We claim that this reflects on our understanding of the deeper logic underlying quantum mechanics.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2018

Taking Heisenberg's Potentia Seriously

It is argued that quantum theory is best understood as requiring an ontological duality of res extensa and res potentia, where the latter is understood per Heisenberg's original proposal, and the former is roughly equivalent to Descartes' 'extended substance.' However, this is not a dualism of mutually exclusive substances in the classical Cartesian sense, and therefore does not inherit the infamous 'mind-body' problem. Rather, res potentia and res extensa are proposed as mutually implicative ontological extants that serve to explain the key conceptual challenges of quantum theory; in particular, nonlocality, entanglement, null measurements, and wave function collapse. It is shown that a natural account of these quantum perplexities emerges, along with a need to reassess our usual ontological commitments involving the nature of space and time.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2017

Hidden Variable Theory of a Single World from Many-Worlds Quantum Mechanics

We propose a method for finding an initial state vector which by ordinary Hamiltonian time evolution follows a single branch of many-worlds quantum mechanics. The resulting deterministic system appears to exhibit random behavior as a result of the successive emergence over time of information present in the initial state but not previously observed.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2017

Time and Consciousness in a Quantum World

We address the relation between two apparently distinct problems: The quest for a deeper understanding of the nature of consciousness and the search for time and space as emergent structures in the quantum mechanical world. We also advance a toy-model proposal of emergence of time from a timeless unus mundus quantum-like space by using Aharonov's two state formalism of quantum mechanics. We further speculate on these issues within a quantum cognitive perspective with particular interest in two recent papers on this emerging field of science. One (Aerts et al) entails (as we argue) a panpsychist top-down approach to the problem of consciousness. The second paper (Blutner et al) proposes a quantum cognitive model for Jung's psychological type structure. We discuss these concepts and their relation with our main thesis, that time is a measure of individuality. One of our central motivations is to provide arguments that allows the mainstream physicist to take seriously a panpsychist worldview, a position that has been openly forwarded by many modern philosophers.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2018

How to teach and think about spontaneous wave function collapse theories: not like before

A simple and natural introduction to the concept and formalism of spontaneous wave function collapse can and should be based on textbook knowledge of standard quantum state collapse and monitoring. This approach explains the origin of noise driving the paradigmatic stochastic Schrödinger equations of spontaneous localization of the wave function $Ψ$. It reveals, on the other hand, that these equations are empirically redundant and the master equations of the noise-averaged state $\hatρ$ are the only empirically testable dynamics in current spontaneous collapse theories.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2018

The Wave-Function as a Multi-Field

It is generally argued that if the wave-function in the de Broglie--Bohm theory is a physical field, it must be a field in configuration space. Nevertheless, it is possible to interpret the wave-function as a multi-field in three-dimensional space. This approach hasn't received the attention yet it really deserves. The aim of this paper is threefold: first, we show that the wave-function is naturally and straightforwardly construed as a multi-field; second, we show why this interpretation is superior to other interpretations discussed in the literature; third, we clarify common misconceptions.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2017

Mysl, smysl, svet

Speech on the occasion of accepting the Dagmar and Vaclav Havel Foundation VIZE 97 Prize for 2017. Delivered at Prague Crossroads, October 5, 2017

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2018

Structural Nonrealism and Quantum Information

The article introduces a new concept of structure, defined, echoing J. A. Wheeler's concept of "law without law," as a "structure without law," and a new philosophical viewpoint, that of structural nnnrealism, and considers how this concept and this viewpoint work in quantum theory in general and quantum information theory in particular. It takes as its historical point of departure W. Heisenberg's discovery of quantum mechanics, which, the article argues, could, in retrospect, be considered in quantum-informational terms, while, conversely, quantum information theory could be seen in Heisenbergian terms. The article takes advantage of the circumstance that any instance of quantum information is a "structure"--an organization of elements, ultimately bits, of classical information, manifested in measuring instruments. While, however, this organization can, along with the observed behavior of measuring instruments, be described by means of classical physics, it cannot be predicted by means of classical physics, but only, probabilistically or statistically, by means of quantum mechanics, or in high-energy physics, by means of quantum field theory (or possibly some alternative theories within each scope). By contrast, the emergences of this information and of this structure cannot, in the present view, be described by either classical or quantum theory, or possibly by any other means, which leads to the concept of "structure without law" and the viewpoint of structural nnnrealism. The article also considers, from this perspective, some recent work in quantum information theory.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2017

Inter-theory Relations in Quantum Gravity: Correspondence, Reduction, and Emergence

Relationships between current theories, and relationships between current theories and the sought theory of quantum gravity (QG), play an essential role in motivating the need for QG, aiding the search for QG, and defining what would count as QG. Correspondence is the broad class of inter-theory relationships intended to demonstrate the necessary compatibility of two theories whose domains of validity overlap, in the overlap regions. The variety of roles that correspondence plays in the search for QG are illustrated, using examples from specific QG approaches. Reduction is argued to be a special case of correspondence, and to form part of the definition of QG. Finally, the appropriate account of emergence in the context of QG is presented, and compared to conceptions of emergence in the broader philosophy literature. It is argued that, while emergence is likely to hold between QG and general relativity, emergence is not part of the definition of QG, and nor can it serve usefully in the development and justification of the new theory.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2017

Cosmological Black Hole Observations and Kant's Transcendental Aesthetic

Kant put forward the notion of the Transcendental Aesthetic (TA) in his manuscript ${\it A\; Critique\; of\; Pure\; Reason}$. In this note I review the TA in light of the detection of gravitational wave radiation. While the notion of the TA has been refuted in many different ways since its introduction, I argue that this simple proof by contradiction is of interest pedagogically and philosophically. I hope this elucidation may be useful in introductory science courses and in science communication more generally.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2018

Ontological Motivation in Obtaining Certain Quantum Equations: A Case for Panexperientialism

In this work I argue for the existence of an ontological state in which no entity in it can be more basic than the others in such a state. This is used to provide conceptual justification for a method that is applied to obtain the Schrödinger equation, the Klein-Gordon equation, and the Klein-Gordon equation for a particle in an electromagnetic field. Additionally, it is argued that the existence of such state is incompatible with indirect realism; and the discussion suggests that a panexeperientialist view is a straightforward means to embrace it.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2018

The Climate of the Khagan. Observations on palaeo-environmental Factors of the History of the Avars (6th-9th century AD)

Based on palaeoenvironmental, historical and archaeological data, the paper proposes possible climatic impacts on the history of the Avar Khaganate, which comprised the Carpathian Basin between the late 6th and the early 9th century AD. While the establishment of the Avars in East Central Europe took place within a period characterised by cold and dry climatic conditions (recently identified as Late Antique Little Ice Age), more stable climatic parameters may have favoured the stabilisation of Avar rule after a crisis in the aftermath of 626 AD. Data indicates growth of settlement and agricultural activity up to the mid-8th century. These developments did not necessarily strengthen central power, but may have contributed to a greater autonomy of various groups on the basis of increased resources. The Khaganate quickly disintegrated faced by the Carolingian advance of the 790s; the last decades of documented Avar presence were again accompanied by environmental vicissitudes.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2018

Ludvig Lorenz (1867) on Light and Electricity

Independent of Maxwell, in 1867 the Danish physicist L. V. Lorenz proposed a theory in which he identified light with electrical oscillations propagating in a very poor conductor. Lorenz's electrodynamic theory of light, which formally was equivalent to Maxwell's theory but physically quite different from it, was published in well-known journals in German and English but soon fell into oblivion. In 1867 Lorenz also published a paper on his new theory in a semi-popular Danish journal which has generally been overlooked. This other paper is here translated into English and provided with the necessary annotations.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2018

Bell's Theory of Beables and the Concept of `Universe'

From its earliest days nearly a century ago, quantum mechanics has proven itself to be a tremendously accurate yet intellectually unsatisfying theory to many. Not the least of its problems is that it is a theory about the results of measurements. As John Bell once said in introducing the concept of `beables', it should be possible to say what is rather than merely what is observed. In this essay I consider the question of whether a universe can be a (nonlocal) beable and what that implies about the fundamental nature of that universe. I conclude that a universe that is a beable within the framework of certain theories, cannot also be fundamental.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2018

On the Structure and Function of Scientific Perspectivism in Quantum Mechanics

Contemporary scientific perspectivism is re-evaluated and extended to a comprehensive perspectivist methodology and 'mediated' realistic epistemology, especially, with reference to quantum mechanics. In the present study, this is realized by representing categorically the global structure of a quantum algebra of events in terms of structured multitudes of interrelated local Boolean frames, realized as suitable perspectives or contexts for measuring physical quantities. The philosophical meaning of the proposed approach implies that the quantum world can be consistently approached and comprehended through a multilevel structure of locally variable perspectives, which interlock, in a category-theoretical environment, to form a coherent picture of the whole in a nontrivial way. Thus, in contrast to a panoptical "view from nowhere" of the classical paradigm, quantum theory acknowledges in an essential way a perspectival/contextual character of scientific knowledge.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2018

The Relation Between Classical and Quantum Mechanics

Familiar formulations of classical and quantum mechanics are shown to follow from a general theory of mechanics based on pure states with an intrinsic probability structure. This theory is developed to the stage where theorems from quantum logic enable expression of the state geometry in Hilbert space. Quantum and classical mechanics are then elaborated and applied to subsystems and the measurement process. Consideration is also given to space-time geometry and the constraints this places on the dynamics. Physics and Mathematics, it is argued, are growing apart; the inadequate treatment of approximations in general and localisation in quantum mechanics in particular are seen as contributing factors. In the description of systems, the link between localisation and lack of knowledge shows that quantum mechanics should reflect the domain of applicability. Restricting the class of states provides a means of achieving this goal. Localisation is then shown to have a mathematical expression in terms of compactness, which in turn is applied to yield a topological theory of bound and scattering states. Finally, the thesis questions the validity of classical limits and quantisations in intertheoretic reduction, and demonstrates that a widely accepted classical limit does not constitute a proof of reduction. It proposes a procedure for determining whether classical and quantum mechanics are weakly equivalent over a domain of applicability, and concludes that, in this restricted sense, classical mechanics reduces to quantum mechanics.

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