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Article ID: CBB001201240

Pragmatism, Bohr, and the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (2013)

Maleeh, Reza (Author)
Amani, Parisa (Author)

International Studies in the Philosophy of Science
Volume: 27
Pages: 353--367

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Quantum mechanics Philosophy of science Positivism Pragmatism; instrumentalism 20th century, early Bohr, Niels Henrik David Born, Max Heisenberg, Werner

In this article, we argue that although Bohr's version of the Copenhagen interpretation is in line with several key elements of logical positivism, pragmatism is the closest approximation to a classification of the Copenhagen interpretation, whether or not pragmatists directly influenced the key figures of the interpretation. Pragmatism already encompasses important elements of operationalism and logical positivism, especially the liberalized Carnapian reading of logical positivism. We suggest that some elements of the Copenhagen interpretation, which are in line with logical positivism, are also supported by pragmatism. Some of these elements are empirical realism, fallibilism, holism, and instrumentalism. However, pragmatism goes beyond logical positivism in espousing some other key elements of the Copenhagen interpretation, though imperfectly, such as the correspondence principle, complementarity, and indeterminism.

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