QUANTUM METAPHYSICS - E-thesis

practically-oriented physicists. Even so, the adoption of such relativistic attitudes struck me as a
form of surrender, of being satisfied too easily. Why should we abandon the traditional realism
connected with physical research when quantum theory had confronted us with something
endlessly fascinating – a treasure chest of the unexpected? If questions of interpretation remained
unanswered, we would lose a unique opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the true
nature of reality.
Niels Bohr, famous for having developed the theory of the atom and generally considered to be
one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century, was quite certain that quantum mechanics, just
like every deep and fundamental problem, carried with it its own solution: i.e. it forces us to
change our way of thinking. 1 This starting point suited my own approach. I was quite certain
that through quantum mechanics, nature had taught us something which would alter our
approach. The limitations in the metaphor of nature as a machine that was introduced at the
beginning of the modern era had become obvious, and the search had to begin for new models
and ways of thinking, which could incorporate and make comprehensible the new features and
insights provided by quantum mechanics. The road to even a modest understanding was a long
one. Before the pieces of the puzzle began to slip into place, I had to abandon many of the beliefs
that I held to be self-evident, and wade through several flimsy quagmires, both large and small.
When I began my own research more than ten years ago, I used the principles of Realism and
Naturalism to clarify what the long debate on the interpretation of quantum mechanics truly
contained and indicated. I carried with me the strong desire that a suitable interpretation would
offer a more fruitful starting point than those adopted previously for the investigation of human
nature and its relationship to the external world. Both the ecological crisis and the significant
crumbling of cultural values are, in my opinion, closely connected with the modern era skills of
adopting a mechanical and objective view of nature. If humans cannot learn to see more clearly
both their own position and the possibilities that nature offers, they are unlikely to accept
sufficient responsibility for shaping a decent future. Looking back, I can only repeat the old
adage – look and you will find.
Initially, I approached the subject of questions connected with the interpretation of quantum
mechanics as broadly as possible. In addition to scientific papers by physicists and philosophers,
quantum mechanics has spawned an unparallelled number of popular books and articles. My
1 Weisskopf 1990, 63.
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