I offer an account of how the quantum theory we have helps us explain so much. The account depends on a pragmatist interpretation of the theory: this takes a quantum state to serve as a source of sound advice to physically situated agents on the content and appropriate degree of belief about matters concerning which they are currently inevitably ignorant. The general account of how to use quantum states and probabilities to explain otherwise puzzling regularities is then illustrated by showing how we can explain single-particle interference phenomena, the stability of matter, and interference of Bose–Einstein condensates. Finally, I note some open problems and relate this account to alternative approaches to explanation that emphasize the importance of causation, of unification, and of structure. 1 Introduction 2 Two Requirements on Explanations in Physics 3 What We Can use Quantum Theory to Explain 4 The Function of Quantum States and Born Probabilities 5 How These Functions Contribute to the Explanatory Task 6 Example One: Single-Particle Interference 7 Example Two: Explanation of the Stability of Matter 8 Example Three: Bose Condensation 9 Conclusion
...MoreSimilar Citations
Article
Adrien Vila Valls;
(2015)
Entre causalisme et positivisme : La réception épistémologique de la mécanique quantique par les théoriciens français de la génération de l’entre-deux-guerres
(/isis/citation/CBB691093830/)
Book
Price, Huw;
Corry, Richard;
(2007)
Causation, Physics, and the Constitution of Reality: Russell's Republic Revisited
(/isis/citation/CBB000774178/)
Article
Liu, Chuang;
Emch, Gérard G.;
(2005)
Explaining Quantum Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking
(/isis/citation/CBB000501573/)
Book
Lange, Marc;
(2002)
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Physics: Locality, Fields, Energy, and Mass
(/isis/citation/CBB000201447/)
Article
Cuffaro, Michael;
(2010)
The Kantian Framework of Complementarity
(/isis/citation/CBB001024225/)
Book
Plotnitsky, Arkady;
(2010)
Epistemology and Probability: Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrödinger and the Nature of Quantum-Theoretical Thinking
(/isis/citation/CBB001230453/)
Article
Rigden, John S.;
Stuewer, Roger H.;
(2012)
Understanding of Quantum Mechanics Eludes Physicists for Eighty-Six Years
(/isis/citation/CBB001221642/)
Book
Pietro Greco;
(2020)
Quanti. La straordinaria storia della meccanica quantistica
(/isis/citation/CBB247197978/)
Book
Federico Laudisa;
(2023)
Dalla fisica alla filosofia naturale : Niels Bohr e la cultura scientifica del Novecento
(/isis/citation/CBB968309483/)
Thesis
Lee, Jeongmin;
(2006)
Bohr vs. Bohm: Interpreting Quantum Theory through the Philosophical Tradition
(/isis/citation/CBB001561463/)
Article
Kunihisa Morita;
(2016)
Einstein's Criticism of Quantum Mechanics and Humean Philosophy
(/isis/citation/CBB195434031/)
Article
Schweber, S. S.;
(2009)
Weimar Physics: Sommerfeld's Seminar and the Causality Principle
(/isis/citation/CBB000932737/)
Article
Andrea Mazzola;
(2015)
La controversia sulla teoria dei quanti e la Scuola di Lisbona
(/isis/citation/CBB584135644/)
Essay Review
Bacciagaluppi, Guido;
(2013)
The Many Facets of Everett's Many Worlds
(/isis/citation/CBB001500261/)
Book
Brock, Steen;
(2003)
Niels Bohr's Philosophy of Quantum Physics in the Light of the Helmholtzian Tradition of Theoretical Physics
(/isis/citation/CBB000500169/)
Article
Schroer, Bert;
(2013)
The Einstein-Jordan Conundrum and Its Relation to Ongoing Foundational Research in Local Quantum Physics
(/isis/citation/CBB001212075/)
Article
De Gregorio, Alberto;
Sebastiani, Fabio;
(2007)
Il debutto di Enrico Fermi come professore di fisica teorica
(/isis/citation/CBB001023756/)
Chapter
Rodolfo Figari;
(2017)
Particle tracks in a cloud chamber: the Mott’s conjecture (1929)
(/isis/citation/CBB979079556/)
Chapter
Fröhlich, Jürg;
(2008)
Einstein and h: Advances in Quantum Mechanics
(/isis/citation/CBB000820132/)
Thesis
Hanson, Todd Alan;
(2007)
Quantum Entanglements: Collaboration and Communication in a ScientificCommunity of Practice
(/isis/citation/CBB001560967/)
Physis: Rivista Internazionale di Storia della Scienza
Physics in Perspective
Revue d'Histoire des Sciences
Metascience: An International Review Journal for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science
Historia Scientiarum: International Journal of the History of Science Society of Japan
Be the first to comment!