Journal Article10.1093/BJPS/VI.21.1
Strife about complementarity (i)
TL;DR: The atomic postulate of quantum mechanics was recognised by Bohr himself, when he wrote that the quantum postulate, according to which every atomic process exhibits a character of individuality or wholeness, is an'irrational element'.
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Abstract: W E saw (sees. 2 and 3) that, for Bohr and Rosenfeld, the observed system and the instrument of observation form a whole, a ' sealed unit' defining the phenomenon. ' Any atomic scale phenomenon must thus be conceived as a whole ; any attempt to apply to it the same kind of analysis as in classical physics would simply make it vanish. The word ' atomic ' here resumes its etymological sense with a more subtle connotation.' x That is to say, the atomic scale phenomenon is regarded as a whole in the sense of holistic philosophies—a totality that cannot be rationalised and hence represents a limit, a non plus ultra, to human knowledge. For instance, every energy change in an atom has to be regarded as elementary or atomic, because the forever indivisible quantum is involved in i t ; * and, as Bridgman once said, ' it is meaningless to penetrate much deeper than the electron ', for there is really nothing within it. This modern version of atomism is as mechanistic as ancient atomism and as irrationalistic as any obscurantist world outlook. The irrationalist feature lies in the claim that wholes are unanalysable, that their analysis and understanding is forever beyond all human possibility. This irrationalist aspect of the official philosophy of quantum mechanics was recognised by Bohr himself, when he wrote that the ' quantum postulate', according to which every atomic process exhibits a character of ' individuality ' or wholeness, is an ' irrational element '. Elsewhere, after describing an electron diffraction phenomenon, Bohr stresses the universality of such an irrational totality (which he calls individuality) : The impossibility of a closer analysis of the reactions between the particle and the measuring instrument is indeed no peculiarity of the experimental procedure described, but is rather an essential property
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Citations
Constructing the Myth of the Copenhagen Interpretation
TL;DR: The authors examines how the so-called "myth of the Copenhagen interpretation" was constructed by situating it in the context of Soviet Marxist critique of quantum mechanics in the 1950s and the response by physicists such as Heisenberg and Rosenfeld.
The Crisis in Physics: Dialectical Materialism and Quantum Theory
TL;DR: In this paper, the resurgence of interest in the interpretation of quantum theory which occurred in the late 1940s and 1950s, and seeks to uncover its political origins in a perceived clash between the post-War Stalinist interpretation of dialectical materialism and the ''Copenhagen'' interpretation of Quantum mechanics.
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Complementarity in quantum mechanics: A logical analysis
Hugo Bedau,Paul Oppenheim +1 more
TL;DR: The concept of complementarity in quantum mechanics was introduced and brought to prominence by Niels Bohr as discussed by the authors, and its application to the relation between science and religion has recently interested many writers.
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Bohr’s Complementarity and Kant’s Epistemology
Michel Bitbol,S. Osnaghi +1 more
- 01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors point out and analyze some striking analogies between Kant's transcendental method in philosophy and Bohr's approach of the fundamental issues raised by quantum mechanics, and argue in particular that some of the most controversial aspects of Bohr’s views, as well as the philosophical concerns that led him to endorse such views, can naturally be understood along the lines of Kant's celebrated "Copernican" revolution in epistemology.
Philosophy of Science and Technology: A Personal Report
Mario Bunge
- 01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: This work in the general philosophy and methodology of science and technology, as well as in the philosophy of some of their various branches, is shown to be components of a new philosophical system hoped to be in harmony with contemporaryScience and technology and moreover one capable of stimulating their advancement.
22
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On the notions of causality and complementarity1
TL;DR: In this paper, a short exposition is given of the foundation of the causal description in classical physics and the failure of the principle of causality in coping with atomic phenomena, and an appropriate tool for a complementary mode of description is provided by the quantum-mechanical formalism which allows us to account for regularities of definite or statistical character beyond the grasp of classical physical explanation.