Quantons are Quaint but Basic and Real, and the Quantum Theory Explains Much but not Everything: Reply to my Commentators

Abstract

The commentators on my target article (Bunge 2003) have pointed out some gapsand controversial points in it. However, we all agree that (a) although the quantum theory is basically correct, its orthodox or Copenhagen interpretation, particularly the claim that quantum events are mind-dependent, is false; and (b) quantons – the referents of the quantum theory – however strange, exist on their own, even if some of their properties depend partially upon their environment. I only differ from some of my commentators on whether the quantum theory has no precursors at all; on whether it can explain everything physical, including the universe as a whole; and on whether the quantum theory of measurement is relevant. In this collective reply I will (a) emphasize the peculiarities of quantons by contrast to classons, while at the same time rejecting the hypothesis of absolute novelty; (b) show why the standard quantum theory of measurement fails to explain how measuring devices work; and (c) state that quantum cosmology, which claims to know the state-vector of the universe, is so far just a fantasy.