Thesis ID: CBB001567648

Time and the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics (2014)

unapi

Pashby, Thomas (Author)


Earman, John
University of Pittsburgh


Publication Date: 2014
Edition Details: Advisor: Earman, John.
Physical Details: 222 pp.
Language: English

Quantum mechanics has provided philosophers of science with many counterintuitive insights and interpretive puzzles, but little has been written about the role that time plays in the theory. One reason for this is the celebrated argument of Wolfgang Pauli against the inclusion of time as an observable of the theory, which has been seen as a demonstration that time may only enter the theory as a classical parameter. Against this orthodoxy I argue that there are good reasons to expect certain kinds of `time observables' to find a representation within quantum theory, including clock operators (which provide the means to measure the passage of time) and event time operators, which provide predictions for the time at which a particular event occurs, such as the appearance of a dot on a luminescent screen. I contend that these time operators deserve full status as observables of the theory, and on re ection provide a uniquely compelling reason to expand the set of observables allowed by the standard formalism of quantum mechanics. In addition, I provide a novel association of event time operators with conditional probabilities, and propose a temporally extended form of quantum theory to better accommodate the time of an event as an observable quantity. This leads to a proposal to interpret quantum theory within an event ontology, inspired by Bertrand Russell's Analysis of Matter. On this basis I mount a defense of Russell's relational theory of time against a recent attack.

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Description Cited in Dissertation Abstracts International-A 76/01(E), Jul 2015. Proquest Document ID: 1609203421.


Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001567648/

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Authors & Contributors
Meyenn, Karl von
Massimi, Michela
Joshua Norton
Rogers, David M.
Stöltzner, Michael
Seth, Suman
Concepts
Quantum mechanics
Physics
Philosophy of science
Time
Philosophy
Philosophy of science, as a discipline
Time Periods
20th century
20th century, early
21st century
19th century
Places
Germany
Berlin (Germany)
Institutions
Berlin Group (Philosophy)
Vienna Circle
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