München 2009 – scientific programme

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AGPhil: Arbeitsgruppe Philosophie der Physik

AGPhil 5: Quantentheorie

AGPhil 5.2: Talk

Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 17:15–17:45, M014

Copenhagen Reloaded — •Helmut Fink — Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

The spirit of Copenhagen seems to have lost its convincing power over the past decades, mainly due to its dubious concepts of “measurement” and “observer”. Quantum universalists, on the other side, claim to describe the transition from quantum to classical behaviour in purely quantum-theoretical terms. The quantum logic approach is often considered as corroborating this view, because classical structures can be embedded into quantum structures.

Nevertheless, the universalistic turn is misguided: There is a semantic discontinuity between quantum states and classical facts. Decoherence does not solve the measurement problem. Unsharp properties don’t either. The concept of classical limit is of course useful, but not for this purpose.

Our conclusion is inconvenient: There is a clash of ontologies. The best way out is offered by accepting the legitimacy of both quantum and classical ontology. Classical ontology sets the stage for the quantum play. With this idea in mind, we promote a fresh look at the quantum interpretation debate, from a Neo-Copenhagen perspective, and without “observers”.