scholarly journals The Cosmic Void

Non-Being ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 115-138
Author(s):  
Eddy Keming Chen
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Quantum State ◽  
Special Kind ◽  
Many Worlds ◽  
Fundamental Level ◽  
Fundamental Matter ◽  
Standard Picture ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Universe

What exists at the fundamental level of reality? On the standard picture, the fundamental reality contains (among other things) fundamental matter, such as particles, fields, or even the quantum state. Non-fundamental facts are explained by facts about fundamental matter, at least in part. In this paper, I introduce a non-standard picture called the “cosmic void” in which the universe is devoid of any fundamental material ontology. Facts about tables and chairs are recovered from a special kind of laws that satisfy strong determinism. All non-fundamental facts are completely explained by nomic facts. I discuss a concrete example of this picture in a strongly deterministic version of the many-worlds theory of quantum mechanics. I discuss some philosophical and scientific challenges to this view, as well as some connections to ontological nihilism.

History, Causation, and the Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Bruce S. Bennett ◽  
Moletlanyi Tshipa
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Possible Worlds ◽  
Interpretation Of Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Quantum Level ◽  
Many Worlds ◽  
Starting Conditions ◽  
Many Worlds Interpretation ◽  
Historical Causation ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Universe

AbstractThe Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) is a theory in physics which proposes that, rather than quantum-level events being resolved randomly as according to the Copenhagen Interpretation, the universe constantly divides into different versions or worlds. All physically possible worlds occur, though some outcomes are more likely than others, and therefore all possible histories exist. This paper explores some implications of this for history, especially concerning causation. Unlike counterfactuals, which concern different starting conditions, MWI concerns different outcomes of the same starting conditions. It is argued that analysis of causation needs to take into account the divergence of outcomes and the possibility that we inhabit a less probable world. Another implication of MWI is convergent history: for any given world there will be similar worlds which are the result of different pasts which are, however, more or less probable. MWI can assist in thinking about historical causation and indicates the importance of probabilistic causation.

Indeterminacy

2020 ◽  
pp. 172-184
Author(s):  
Alastair Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Quantum State ◽  
Modal Realism ◽  
Many Worlds ◽  
Philosophical Literature ◽  
Universal Quantum ◽  
Quantum Indeterminacy

In Everettian quantum mechanics, the universal quantum state is fundamental, non-contingent, and wholly determinate. By contrast, the parallel worlds of diverging EQM, and the contingency constituted by self-location amongst those worlds, are emergent and partly indeterminate. In particular, it is indeterminate both how many worlds there are, and what microscopic qualitative features those worlds have. This chapter discusses various ways to understand indeterminacy in the Everettian multiverse, and argues that the indeterminacies of EQM present no obstacle to the analytic ambitions of quantum modal realism. Everettians can understand quantum indeterminacy using models of indeterminacy that are familiar from the philosophical literature on vagueness.

scholarly journals A Phenomenological Reading of the Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquin Trujillo
Keyword(s):  
Wave Function ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Measurement Problem ◽  
Copenhagen Interpretation ◽  
Interpretation Of Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Many Worlds ◽  
Standard Interpretation ◽  
Hermeneutic Phenomenological ◽  
Many Worlds Interpretation ◽  
The Many

The articles provides a phenomenological reading of the Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics and its answer to the measurement problem, or the question of “why only one of a wave function’s probable values is observed when the system is measured.” Transcendental-phenomenological and hermeneutic-phenomenological approaches are employed. The project comprises four parts. Parts one and two review MWI and the standard (Copenhagen) interpretation of quantum mechanics. Part three reviews the phenomenologies. Part four deconstructs the hermeneutics of MWI. It agrees with the confidence the theory derives from its (1) unforgiving appropriation of the Schrödinger equation and (2) association of branching universes with the evolution of the wave function insofar as that understanding comes from the formalism itself. Part four also reveals the hermeneutical shortcomings of the standard interpretation.

scholarly journals Why probability ambiguity in the many-worlds interpretation is blessing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minseong Kim
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Black Hole Thermodynamics ◽  
Many Worlds ◽  
Many Worlds Interpretation ◽  
Conventional Literature ◽  
Quantum Phenomena ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Universe

The question of how to make sense of probability in the many-worlds interpretation is a controversial and difficult one. Conventional literature attempts to provide a correct way of assigning probability to each world in the universe of many worlds. Differing from these attempts, it is argued that probability ambiguity in the many-worlds interpretation is not a curse but a blessing, allowing us to study quantum phenomena in terms of conventional thermodynamics, connecting readily to black hole thermodynamics.

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