Valia Allori - Böcker

A realist, particle-based view of quantum theory—where the wavefunction no longer plays a central role—offers a clear, commonsense alternative to dominant metaphysical views. This book explores the metaphysics of quantum theory through a lens of scientific realism—the belief that successful scientific theories describe reality. It critically evaluates various interpretations, including structural realism, wave function realism, and the many-worlds view, highlighting their limitations. Valia Allori proposes a “spatiotemporal foundational ontology” approach, grounded in particles as fundamental entities evolving in three-dimensional space and time, following uniform, symmetric laws. This view is exemplified by Bohmian mechanics (pilot-wave theory), offering a constructive, commonsensical explanation of quantum phenomena. The wave function, in this framework, is not a physical object but plays a functional, law-like role in explaining interactions. Further, the book advances a radical thesis: fundamental particles lack intrinsic properties like mass or charge and are instead “bare” objects distinguished only by the laws governing them. This thesis allows a middle path between traditional object-based metaphysics and eliminative structuralism. Ultimately, the author argues that had physics developed more rationally, instead of following a historical path shaped by contingent choices, the pilot-wave theory might have been the dominant interpretation, minimizing the proliferation of speculative alternatives.

This book is a tribute to the scientific legacy of GianCarlo Ghirardi, who was one of the most influential scientists in the field of modern foundations of quantum theory.

This book is a tribute to the scientific legacy of GianCarlo Ghirardi, who was one of the most influential scientists in the field of modern foundations of quantum theory.

This edited collection provides new perspectives on some metaphysical questions arising in quantum mechanics. It features contributions from a diverse set of researchers, ranging from senior scholars to junior academics, working in varied fields, from physics to philosophy of physics and metaphysics.

This edited collection provides new perspectives on some metaphysical questions arising in quantum mechanics. These questions have been long-standing and are of continued interest to researchers and graduate students working in physics, philosophy of physics, and metaphysics. It features contributions from a diverse set of researchers, ranging from senior scholars to junior academics, working in varied fields, from physics to philosophy of physics and metaphysics. The contributors reflect on issues about fundamentality (is quantum theory fundamental? If so, what is its fundamental ontology?), ontological dependence (how do ordinary objects exist even if they are not fundamental?), realism (what kind of realism is compatible with quantum theory?), indeterminacy (can the world itself exhibit ontological indeterminacy?). The book contains contributions from both physicists (including Nobel Prize winner Gerard 't Hooft), science communicators andphilosophers.