Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Quantum mechanics
- 3 Modal interpretations
- Part one Formalism
- Part two Physics
- Part three Philosophy
- 12 Properties, states, measurement outcomes and effective states
- 13 Holism versus reductionism
- 14 Possibilities and impossibilities
- 15 Conclusions
- Appendix A From the bi to the spectral modal interpretation
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
14 - Possibilities and impossibilities
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 October 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Quantum mechanics
- 3 Modal interpretations
- Part one Formalism
- Part two Physics
- Part three Philosophy
- 12 Properties, states, measurement outcomes and effective states
- 13 Holism versus reductionism
- 14 Possibilities and impossibilities
- 15 Conclusions
- Appendix A From the bi to the spectral modal interpretation
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
As a last step towards general conclusions, I collect and assess the more important results obtained in the previous chapters. In the next and final chapter I then consider the question of whether the modal descriptions of reality meet the demands of being well developed, empirically adequate and metaphysically tenable.
Indefinite properties and inexact magnitudes
The bi, spectral and atomic modal interpretations do manage to interpret quantum mechanics by providing a description of what reality could be like in terms of systems possessing properties. Moreover, if one accepts the full property ascription (5.12) as developed in Section 5.4, this description of reality satisfies a number of desirable conditions. However, these modal interpretations do not simultaneously ascribe all the possible properties to a system. Instead they select at each instant a specific subset of the properties pertaining to a system and ascribe only these. And the properties which are not selected are taken to be indefinite.
This possibility that properties of systems are sometimes not definite is in itself not that problematic for in some cases it is perfectly understandable what this means. Consider again the example of a tossing coin. During the toss the properties ‘heads’ and ‘tails’ can be said to be indefinite and this can be understood as meaning that these two properties are applicable only to coins which lie on surfaces. However, in other cases it is less clear what is going on.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A Philosopher's Understanding of Quantum MechanicsPossibilities and Impossibilities of a Modal Interpretation, pp. 252 - 272Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2000