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Foundations of Relational Realism: A Topological Approach to Quantum Mechanics and the Philosophy of Nature
If there is a central conceptual framework that has reliably borne the weight of modern physics as it ascends into the 21st century, it is the framework of quantum mechanics. Because of its enduring stability in experimental application, physics has today reached heights that not only inspire wonder, but arguably exceed the limits of intuitive vision, if not intuitive comprehension. For many physicists and philosophers, however, the currently fashionable tendency toward exotic interpretation of the theoretical formalism is recognized not as a mark of ascent for the tower of physics, but rather an indicator of sway--one that must be dampened rather than encouraged if practical progress is to continue.
In this unique two-part volume, designed to be comprehensible to both specialists and non-specialists, the authors chart out a pathway forward by identifying the central deficiency in most interpretations of quantum mechanics, and indeed, in modern philosophy more That in the conventional, metrical depiction of extension, inherited from the Enlightenment, objects are characterized as fundamental to relations--i.e., such that relations presuppose objects but objects do not presuppose relations. The authors, by contrast, argue that in quantum mechanics physical extensiveness fundamentally entails not only relations of objects, but also relations of relations. In this way, quantum mechanics exemplifies a concept of extensive connection that it is fundamentally topological rather than metrical, and thus requires a logico-mathematical framework grounded in category theory rather than set theory.
By this thesis, the fundamental quanta of quantum physics are properly defined as units of logico-physical relation rather than merely units of physical relata as is the current convention. Objects are always understood as relata, and likewise relations are always understood objectively. Objects and relations are thus coherently defined as mutually implicative. The conventional notion of a history as 'a story about fundamental objects' is thereby reversed, such that the classical 'objects' become the story by which we understand physical systems that are fundamentally histories of quantum events.
These are just a few of the novel critical claims explored in this volume--claims whose exemplification in quantum mechanics will, the authors argue, serve more broadly as foundational principles for the philosophy of nature as it evolves through the 21st century and beyond.
In this unique two-part volume, designed to be comprehensible to both specialists and non-specialists, the authors chart out a pathway forward by identifying the central deficiency in most interpretations of quantum mechanics, and indeed, in modern philosophy more That in the conventional, metrical depiction of extension, inherited from the Enlightenment, objects are characterized as fundamental to relations--i.e., such that relations presuppose objects but objects do not presuppose relations. The authors, by contrast, argue that in quantum mechanics physical extensiveness fundamentally entails not only relations of objects, but also relations of relations. In this way, quantum mechanics exemplifies a concept of extensive connection that it is fundamentally topological rather than metrical, and thus requires a logico-mathematical framework grounded in category theory rather than set theory.
By this thesis, the fundamental quanta of quantum physics are properly defined as units of logico-physical relation rather than merely units of physical relata as is the current convention. Objects are always understood as relata, and likewise relations are always understood objectively. Objects and relations are thus coherently defined as mutually implicative. The conventional notion of a history as 'a story about fundamental objects' is thereby reversed, such that the classical 'objects' become the story by which we understand physical systems that are fundamentally histories of quantum events.
These are just a few of the novel critical claims explored in this volume--claims whose exemplification in quantum mechanics will, the authors argue, serve more broadly as foundational principles for the philosophy of nature as it evolves through the 21st century and beyond.
422 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
About the author
Michael Epperson
3 books2 followersMichael Epperson is a philosopher, research professor and founding director of the Consortium for Philosophy and the Natural Sciences at California State University, Sacramento, and the founding director of the university's History and Philosophy of Science Program. Epperson did his doctoral work in metaphysics, philosophy of science, and philosophy of religion at The University of Chicago, and earned his Ph.D. there in 2003. His dissertation,
Quantum Mechanics and the Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead
(Fordham University Press, 2004, 2nd ed. 2012) was written under the direction of his two supervisors, philosopher David Tracy and physicist Peter Hodgson, Head of the Nuclear Physics Theoretical Group at the University of Oxford. His follow-on work
Foundations of Relational Realism: A Topological Approach to Quantum Mechanics and the Philosophy of Nature
(Rowman & Littlefield, 2013), co-authored with quantum theorist and mathematician Elias Zafiris (Ph.D., Theoretical Physics, Imperial College, University of London) explores the ontological significance of potentia and contextuality in quantum mechanics, toward a mereotopological, relational interpretation.
Epperson's philosophical interests also include ethics and just war theory, and his work in these areas includes the documentary film The 11th Day: Crete 1941 (writer, producer) which chronicles the story of the Cretan civilian resistance against German occupation in World War II. The film received critical acclaim in publications including The Chicago Tribune , Canada's National Post, The Sacramento Bee , and Newsday. Exhibitions have included a special advance screening requested by members of the United States Congress, held at the Capitol, and a screening at the British Embassy in Athens, Greece.
Epperson's philosophical interests also include ethics and just war theory, and his work in these areas includes the documentary film The 11th Day: Crete 1941 (writer, producer) which chronicles the story of the Cretan civilian resistance against German occupation in World War II. The film received critical acclaim in publications including The Chicago Tribune , Canada's National Post, The Sacramento Bee , and Newsday. Exhibitions have included a special advance screening requested by members of the United States Congress, held at the Capitol, and a screening at the British Embassy in Athens, Greece.
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