What Does '(Non)-Absoluteness of Observed Events' Mean?
- URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2309.03171v2
- Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2023 21:59:34 GMT
- Title: What Does '(Non)-Absoluteness of Observed Events' Mean?
- Authors: Emily Adlam
- Abstract summary: We argue that the Wigner's friend paradox, the theorem of Bong et al and the theorem of Lawrence et al are all best understood as demonstrating that if quantum mechanics is universal.
We also argue that these theorems taken together suggest interesting possibilities for a different kind of relational approach in which dynamical states are relativized whilst observed events are absolute.
- Score: 0.0
- License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Abstract: Recently there have emerged an assortment of theorems relating to the
'absoluteness of emerged events,' and these results have sometimes been used to
argue that quantum mechanics may involve some kind of metaphysically radical
non-absoluteness, such as relationalism or perspectivalism. However, in our
view a close examination of these theorems fails to convincingly support such
possibilities. In this paper we argue that the Wigner's friend paradox, the
theorem of Bong et al and the theorem of Lawrence et al are all best understood
as demonstrating that if quantum mechanics is universal, and if certain
auxiliary assumptions hold, then the world inevitably includes various forms of
'disaccord,' but this need not be interpreted in a metaphysically radical way;
meanwhile, the theorem of Ormrod and Barrett is best understood either as an
argument for an interpretation allowing multiple outcomes per observer, such as
the Everett approach, or as a proof that quantum mechanics cannot be universal
in the sense relevant for this theorem. We also argue that these theorems taken
together suggest interesting possibilities for a different kind of relational
approach in which dynamical states are relativized whilst observed events are
absolute, and we show that although something like 'retrocausality' might be
needed to make such an approach work, this would be a very special kind of
retrocausality which would evade a number of common objections against
retrocausality. We conclude that the non-absoluteness theorems may have a
significant role to play in helping converge towards an acceptable solution to
the measurement problem.
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