Customer Reviews

Philosophical Problems of Quantum Physics

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have always thought of physics as the most marvelous branch of science. It is the field which has granted us Laplace's demon, Pauli's exclusion, Heisenberg's uncertainty, Schroedinger's cat, Wigner's friend, the Copenhagen interpretation and Everett's quantum universes (among other conceptions). At the center of it all, where the boundaries of physics and philosophy overlap, we find the great Werner Heisenberg directing traffic. In many ways, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle (1926) was the snowball that got the discipline of quantum mechanics rolling. Years later, Richard P. Feynman was quoted as saying that every new discovery in theoretical physics since H's uncertainty principle was merely a re-stating of the uncertainty principle.

This book deals with many of the philosophical problems associated with QM such as how observation effects "reality" (if there is such a thing) and the disturbing wave / particle duality which is exhibited by matter. In short, QM has changed almost everything insofar as how we interpret the "actual" world. We are forced to revise what used to be common sense notions such as a reality that is independent of an observer. And, as H writes on page 18, there is no turning back: "The hope that new experiments will yet lead us back to objective events in time and space, or to absolute time, are about as well founded as the hope of discovering the end of the world somewhere in the unexplored regions of the Antartic."

And so, the best we can do is to try to cope with the myriad unsettling (if not absurd) implications of quantum mechanics. Heisenberg entertains many and varied thoughts on this subject & delivers them in a lucid fashion.

The book also discusses some of the concepts of classical physics, some of which still hold & some which do not. H goes into detail regarding the theories of light & colour which were devised by such great minds of the past as Newton and Goethe.

The last chapter in the book deals with the hope that science can be used as a medium by which diverse cultures may learn to understand each other. After all, even though the political paradigms and ideas of nation A differ from those of nation B, 1+1 still = 2 in both places. Scientific truths can transcend national prejudices and suspicions. That, among other things, is one of its endearing traits.

I would highly recommend this book for any and all people who are interested in science, philosophy or the philosophy of science. It is an exquisite book of science written by one of science's greatest champions.

Werner Heisenberg was respected for his intriguing lectures on the philosophical implications of the new physics, what is now known as quantum physics. He avidly shared his fascination with man's changing concept of reality, and the contribution of quantum physics to a more fundamental understanding of reality.

And yet, he took pains to explain that quantum physics was only one explanation of reality. He concludes one lecture with a remarkable statement: Revere those things beyond science which really matter and about which it is so difficult to speak.

Heisenberg's lectures span the period in German history, 1932 - 1948, that witnessed the growth of Nazism, the dictatorship of Adolph Hitler, the devastating war in Europe, the systematic genocide of the European Jews, the total military defeat of Germany, and the division of Germany. Nonetheless, these philosophical investigations make no references to the staggering political and military events in Europe. They seem to have been presented in a vacuum.

The final lecture, a commencement speech at Gottingen University in July, 1946, was an exception. Heisenberg now questions the proper role of scientists in the modern world, their conflicting role as a contributing member of the international community of scientists versus their role in the service of their own country. He talks of the "frightening aspect of our present-day existence", not just the atomic bomb, but the potential for "chemical means of destroying life", the "practical possibility to produce infectious diseases artificially", and "perhaps worse, even the biological development of man may be influenced in the direction of some predetermined selective breeding".

Heisenberg likes to begin his discussions of quantum theory by tracing man's efforts to define reality, beginning with classical Greek philosophy. He argues that reality as defined by quantum theory today is actually closer to early Greek concepts than was the deterministic, objective reality that was the foundation of Newtonian physics.

Despite the passage of several decades and major advances in physics, these lectures are still thought provoking and stimulating. Heisenberg himself will long be remembered for his contributions to quantum physics. I suspect that his lectures on the philosophical problems underlying modern physics will not be forgotten either.

Unfortunately, this book does not live up to its title. It is just a collection of lectures dealing largely with the history of science leading up to Quantum Mechanics.

Each of the lectures very lightly touches on philosophical implications without actually discussing them.

There are many profoundly interesting implications of Quantum Mechanics to ontology, epistomoloty, etc. None of these are mentioned at all.

Find another book if you want one that actually covers the subject implied by the title.

There are many books on quantum physics and the men who discovered it. The best I have read were by Brian Greene. While this book was not a difficult read, I didn't find it of any particular interest. This, in spite of the fact that I am deeply inspired by what quantum mechanics may say about our existance.