Article ID: CBB529614625

Relational Quantum Mechanics, quantum relativism, and the iteration of relativity (2024)

unapi

The idea that the dynamical properties of quantum systems are invariably relative to other systems has recently regained currency. Using Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM) for a case study, this paper calls attention to a question that has been underappreciated in the debate about quantum relativism: the question of whether relativity iterates. Are there absolute facts about the properties one system possesses relative to a specified reference, or is this again a relative matter, and so on? It is argued that RQM (in its best-known form) is committed to what I call the Unrestricted Iteration Principle (UIP), and thus to an infinite regress of relativisations. This principle plays a crucial role in ensuring the communicability and coherence of interaction outcomes across observers. It is, however, shown to be incompatible with the widespread, conservative reading of RQM in terms of relations, instead necessitating the adoption of the more unorthodox notion of perspectival facts. I conclude with some reflections on the current state of play in perspectivist versions of RQM and quantum relativism more generally, underscoring both the need for further conceptual development and the importance of the iteration principle for an accurate cost-benefit analysis of such interpretations.

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Authors & Contributors
Seidel, Markus
Arana, Andrew
Clarke, Imogen
Jonker, Ed
Lamb, Willis E., Jr.
Lange, Marc
Journals
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
American Journal of Physics
Configurations: A Journal of Literature, Science, and Technology
Journal for General Philosophy of Science
Notes and Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science
Perspectives on Science
Publishers
Blackwell Publishers
Edinburgh University Press
Guaraldi
Palgrave Macmillan
Rutgers University Press
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Concepts
Philosophy of science
Quantum mechanics
Relativism (philosophy)
Relativity
Physics
Theories of knowledge
People
Einstein, Albert
Fleck, Ludwik
Newton, Isaac
Aristotle
Bergmann, Peter G.
Feyerabend, Paul K.
Time Periods
20th century
20th century, early
19th century
20th century, late
Ancient
Modern
Places
Great Britain
Institutions
Syracuse University
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