A Platonic Defence of Realism in Quantum Theory
In this thesis, contrary to the common assumption that quantum theory is positivist and antirealist, I argue that it is best understood as being Platonic. There has been a constant confusion of terms whereby realism has been equated with materialism and determinism, so that the denial of these metaphysical notions has led to the false conclusion that quantum theory is antirealist. However, there are many different uses of the terms 'realism', 'antirealism' and 'idealism'. When such confusion has been clarified and we have taken seriously the philosophical views of the founders of quantum theory coupled with appropriate metaphysical reasoning, we can understand how the new physics still presupposes and implies the truth of essential aspects of Platonism. Two important examples are that physics (classical and quantum) presupposes the notion of a unified, hierarchically ordered universe, and that what is most real or fundamental in physics is the ideal. The ideal laws of physics must have some sort of existence (or being) prior to their discovery, and the best explanation for their ontological status and our access to them is to be found in Platonic realism. The basic realist assumption that we discover nonphysical
Spencer, John Halley
A Platonic Defence of Realism in Quantum Theory. In this thesis, contrary to the common assumption that quantum theory is positivist and antirealist, I argue that it is best understood as being Platonic. There has been a constant confusion of terms whereby realism has been equated with materialism and determinism, so that the denial of these metaphysical notions has led to the false conclusion that quantum theory is antirealist. However, there are many different uses of the terms 'realism', 'antirealism' and 'idealism'. When such confusion has been clarified and we have taken seriously the philosophical views of the founders of quantum theory coupled with appropriate metaphysical reasoning, we can understand how the new physics still presupposes and implies the truth of essential aspects of Platonism. Two important examples are that physics (classical and quantum) presupposes the notion of a unified, hierarchically ordered universe, and that what is most real or fundamental in physics is the ideal. The ideal laws of physics must have some sort of existence (or being) prior to their discovery, and the best explanation for their ontological status and our access to them is to be found in Platonic realism. The basic realist assumption that we discover nonphysical
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