QUANTUM METAPHYSICS - E-thesis

particles out of these fields using special particle-creation operators and destroys them using
destructive operators. A void is a state in which there is nothing left to destroy. It is important to
note that the field concept in this theory requires a concept of time and space. Field properties
are functions of time and position, and fields can change in relation to these. The theory does not
however answer the explicit question of whether time and space exist without fields. 496
There are no simple answers for this kind of fundamental ontological questions. Even though
discussion of the problem of interpreting quantum mechanics has now continued for almost a
hundred years, a generally-acceptable interpretation of ”wave function (or state vector )”, which
is the basic term of the theory, has not yet been agreed. This mathematical construction makes it
possible to predict the probability of all the particular results which can be manifested, but a
corresponding physical entity to wave function itself can never be directly observed. The wave
function has been presented as depicting multi-dimensional transcendental reality or the
distribution of possibilities in that kind of reality. Several physicists have said they believe that
state vectors operating in a complex state-space have a completely objective meaning 497 , but on
the other hand, many have ignored any need for interpretation by stating that the wave function
is just a mathematical instrument. Interpretations which make clear reference outside the
observable space-time are considered to be non-credible, because they demand a radical
reassessment of the prevailing conception of reality. Even though quantum mechanics has
proved classical physics to be inadequate, classical metaphysics holds fast. The new concept of
state, however, means that the quantum-mechanical portrayal is totally different to the classical
portrayal, in which material phenomena are described by discrete particles moving in spacetime.
In spite of the abstract nature of state vectors, many of their features are however
manifested in reality as concrete and observable phenomena.
4.2.1. The complex state vector, observables and properties
In quantum mechanics, the system that is being studied is described by a wave or state function
which is dependent on the whole experimental arrangement. This function includes all the
496
Laurikainen 1973, 180-184. Laurikainen believes that the concept of space does not have a clear meaning in the
realm of elementary particles since general relativity, a non-linear theory, is not compatible with linear quantum
mechanics.
497
Auyang 1995, 68. For example R. Penrose and J. Polkinghorne assume that physicists generally consider wave
functions to be real.
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