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Wanted Dead or Alive: Two Attempts to Solve Schrödinger’s Paradox

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2023

David Albert  and
Barry Loewer
David Albert
Affiliation:
Columbia University and Rutgers University
Barry Loewer
Affiliation:
Columbia University and Rutgers University
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Extract

In a discussion of Schroedinger’s views on quantum theory John Bell says that Schroedinger did not see how “to account for particle tracks in track chambers…and more generally for the definiteness, the particularity, of experience, as compared with the indefiniteness, the waviness, of the wave function. It is the problem he had had with his cat. He thought it could not be both dead and alive. But the wave function showed no such commitment, superposing the possibilities. Either the wave function as given by the Schroedinger equation is not everything or it is not right” (Bell 1987). At a recent conference Bell sermonized against the employment of “for all practical purpose” reasoning- he called it FAP reasoning-to solve this problem (Bell 1989). He argued that we should not be satisfied with any alleged solution which works “for all practical purposes” only while leaving conceptual puzzles unresolved.

Type
Part IV. Quantum Theory
Information
PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association , Volume 1990 , Issue 1: Volume One: Contributed Papers 1990 , 1990 , pp. 277 - 285
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1990

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Footnotes

1

We would like to thank Hartry Field for the title and Yakir Aharanov for discussions of the modal interpretation.

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