Abstract
An Aristotelian philosophy of nature rejects the modern prejudice in favor of the microscopic, a rejection that is crucial if we are to penetrate the mysteries of the quantum world. I defend an Aristotelian model by drawing on both quantum chemistry and recent work on the measurement problem. By building on the work of Hans Primas, using the distinction between quantum and classical properties that emerges in quantum chemistry at the thermodynamic or continuum limit, I develop a new version of the Copenhagen interpretation, a version that is realist, holistic, and hylomorphic in character, allowing for the attribution of fundamental causal powers to human observers and their instruments. I conclude with a critique of non-hylomorphic theories of primitive ontology, including Bohmian mechanics, Everettianism, and GRW mass-density.
Highlights
Widespread dissatisfaction with Humean and Neo-Humean projects has led to a revival of interest in Aristotle-inspired theories of causal powers
The substances have definite locations even though their quantum parts do not! Substances have a full complement of determinate, classical properties.1. These classical properties include chemical form, chirality, temperature, entropy, and chemical potential. It is when we look at composite substances that we see the need for Aristotelian hylomorphism, and not merely the so-called powers ontology of such recent philosophers as C
The perennial philosophy depends on denying that sciences like chemistry, thermodynamics, and biology are reducible to particle or field physics, since entities that are reduced to other entities cannot be metaphysically fundamental, and it is chemical and biological substances and not particles or fields that are fundamental
Summary
Widespread dissatisfaction with Humean and Neo-Humean projects has led to a revival of interest in Aristotle-inspired theories of causal powers. This revival has great potential to illuminate issues in the philosophy of science and of nature. An Aristotelian perspective on the import of the quantum revolution would open up new avenues of thought. This article belongs to the Topical Collection: Powers in the world of science Guest Editors: Andrea Roselli, Anna Marmodoro
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