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Predictions and Primitive Ontology in Quantum Foundations: A Study of Examples
- Source :
- British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 65: 323-352 (2014)
- Publication Year :
- 2012
-
Abstract
- A major disagreement between different views about the foundations of quantum mechanics concerns whether for a theory to be intelligible as a fundamental physical theory it must involve a "primitive ontology" (PO), i.e., variables describing the distribution of matter in 4-dimensional space-time. In this paper, we illustrate the value of having a PO. We do so by focussing on the role that the PO plays for extracting predictions from a given theory and discuss valid and invalid derivations of predictions. To this end, we investigate a number of examples based on toy models built from the elements of familiar interpretations of quantum theory.<br />Comment: 28 pages LaTeX, no figures; v2 minor improvements
- Subjects :
- Quantum Physics
Subjects
Details
- Database :
- arXiv
- Journal :
- British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 65: 323-352 (2014)
- Publication Type :
- Report
- Accession number :
- edsarx.1206.0019
- Document Type :
- Working Paper
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/axs048