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.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780190618797
Publisert
2020
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter