Bokulich, Peter Joshua Martin (Author)
Niels Bohr famously argued that a consistent understanding of quantum mechanics requires a new epistemic framework, which he named complementarity . This position asserts that even in the context of quantum theory, classical concepts must be used to understand and communicate measurement results. The apparent conflict between certain classical descriptions is avoided by recognizing that their application now crucially depends on the measurement context. Recently it has been argued that a new form of complementarity can provide a solution to the so-called information loss paradox. Stephen Hawking argues that the evolution of black holes cannot be described by standard unitary quantum evolution, because such evolution always preserves information, while the evaporation of a black hole will imply that any information that fell into it is irrevocably lost---hence a paradox. Some researchers in quantum gravity have argued that this paradox can be resolved if one interprets certain seemingly incompatible descriptions of events around black holes as instead being complementary. In this dissertation I assess the extent to which this black hole complementarity can be undergirded by Bohr's account of the limitations of classical concepts. I begin by offering an interpretation of Bohr's complementarity and the role that it plays in his philosophy of quantum theory. After clarifying the nature of classical concepts, I offer an account of the limitations these concepts face, and argue that Bohr's appeal to disturbance is best understood as referring to these conceptual limits. Following preparatory chapters on issues in quantum field theory and black hole mechanics, I offer an analysis of the information loss paradox and various responses to it. I consider the three most prominent accounts of black hole complementarity and argue that they fail to offer sufficient justification for the proposed incompatibility between descriptions. The lesson that emerges from this dissertation is that we have as much to learn from the limitations facing our scientific descriptions as we do from the successes they enjoy. Because all of our scientific theories offer at best limited, effective accounts of the world, an important part of our interpretive efforts will be assessing the borders of these domains of description.
...MoreDescription Cited in Diss. Abstr. Int. A 64 (2003): 525. UMI order no. 3080950.
Article
Perovic, Slobodan;
(2013)
Emergence of Complementarity and the Baconian Roots of Niels Bohr's Method
(/isis/citation/CBB001213353/)
Article
Rigden, John S.;
Stuewer, Roger H.;
(2012)
Understanding of Quantum Mechanics Eludes Physicists for Eighty-Six Years
(/isis/citation/CBB001221642/)
Article
Jacobsen, Anja Skaar;
(2007)
Léon Rosenfeld's Marxist Defense of Complementarity
(/isis/citation/CBB000850130/)
Book
Barab, Peter;
(2010)
The Complementary Nature of Reality
(/isis/citation/CBB001020874/)
Article
Camilleri, Kristian;
(2007)
Bohr, Heisenberg and the Divergent Views of Complementarity
(/isis/citation/CBB000701043/)
Article
Cuffaro, Michael;
(2010)
The Kantian Framework of Complementarity
(/isis/citation/CBB001024225/)
Article
Dongen, Jeroen van;
Haro, Sebastian de;
(2004)
On Black Hole Complementarity
(/isis/citation/CBB000471129/)
Book
Kumar, Manjit;
(2010)
Quantum: Einstein, Bohr, and the Great Debate about the Nature of Reality
(/isis/citation/CBB001033184/)
Thesis
Tanona, Scott Daniel;
(2002)
From Correspondence to Complementarity: The Emergence of Bøhr's Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
(/isis/citation/CBB001562244/)
Book
Pietro Greco;
(2020)
Quanti. La straordinaria storia della meccanica quantistica
(/isis/citation/CBB247197978/)
Chapter
Dolling, Lisa M.;
(2008)
Practical Arrangements and Fictitious Use: Bohr's Photon Box
(/isis/citation/CBB000953880/)
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/)
Thesis
Diamond, Ethel;
(2006)
The Role of Philosophy in the Conceptual Development of Quantum Physics
(/isis/citation/CBB001560852/)
Thesis
Bai, Tongdong;
(2004)
Philosophy and Physics: Action-at-a-Distance and Locality
(/isis/citation/CBB001560566/)
Article
Halvorson, Hans;
(2004)
Complementarity of Representations in Quantum Mechanics
(/isis/citation/CBB000471100/)
Article
A. Venegas-Li;
H. Solís-Sánchez;
M. Quirós-Rojas;
M. Guevara-Bertsch;
K. Chaves-Cruz;
E. Boza-Oviedo;
S. Vargas-Hernández;
M. Ortega-Rodríguez;
(2017)
The Early Scientific Contributions of J. Robert Oppenheimer: Why Did the Scientific Community Miss the Black Hole Opportunity?
(/isis/citation/CBB236768493/)
Book
Melia, Fulvio;
(2009)
Cracking the Einstein Code: Relativity and the Birth of Black Hole Physics
(/isis/citation/CBB001020068/)
Article
Smith, C. U. M.;
(2005)
Origins of Molecular Neurobiology: The Role of Physicists
(/isis/citation/CBB000600112/)
Book
Ron Cowen;
(2019)
Gravity’s Century: From Einstein’s Eclipse to Images of Black Holes
(/isis/citation/CBB699668949/)
Be the first to comment!