The Measurement Problem: Evidence for the Existence of Corporeal Reality John Joseph Taylor Independent Researcher. Godalming. Surrey. United Kingdom
[email protected] Abstract It is argued that Wolfgang Smith’s conception of “corporeal reality” and his interpretation of quantum mechanics have been vindicated by new evidence. Specifically, Smith’s notion of corporeal reality has support in the work of Erik Hoel, and his theory of “causal emergence”, which in turn supports Smith’s interpretation of quantum mechanics in general. 1.Introduction The Measurement Problem is the enigma of how or, even indeed whether, wave function collapse occurs in quantum mechanics.1 Many intrepid, and often spurious, ideas have been leveraged in response to this issue. Most notoriously, perhaps, is the Many Worlds Interpretation (MWI), which purports to resolve the measurement problem by virtue of stipulating that every time a quantum event occurs the universe splits into an infinite number of copies of itself, in order to allow for all possibilities of the wave function to manifest.2 Nevertheless, there have been more sensible attempts to resolve the measurement problem, which typically involve questioning and challenging the current scientific paradigm. One such attempt is Wolfgang Smith’s interpretation, which uses medieval notions of Act and Potency to formulate a novel interpretation of quantum theory. Smith’s underlying thesis is that the current scientific paradigm fatefully assumes that the natural world can be solely and unequivocally reduced to quantity3. Qualities (e.g. the color green), according to this present paradigm are thus, mere illusions, which reside exclusively within 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measurement_problem 2 Everett, Hugh; Wheeler, J.