Understanding Of Physical Reality Research Articles

Divine and Human Providence: Philosophical, Psychological and Theological Approaches

Divine and Human Providence: Philosophical, Psychological and Theological Approaches

Exact time-dependent solution of the Schrödinger equation, its generalization to the phase space and relation to the Gibbs distribution

Using the simplest but fundamental example, the problem of the infinite potential well, this paper makes an ideological attempt (supported by rigorous mathematical proofs) to approach the issue of ≪understanding≫ the mechanism of quantum mechanics processes, despite the well-known examples of the EPR paradox type. The new exact solution of the Schrödinger equation is analyzed from the perspective of quantum mechanics in the phase space. It is the phase space, which has been extensively used recently in quantum computing, quantum informatics and communications, that is the bridge towards classical physics, where understanding of physical reality is still possible. In this paper, an interpretation of time-dependent processes of energy redistribution in a quantum system, probability waves, the temperature and entropy of a quantum system, and the transition to a time-independent ≪frozen state≫ is obtained, which is understandable from the point of view of classical physics. The material of the paper clearly illustrates the solution of the problem from the standpoint of continuum mechanics, statistical physics and, of course, quantum mechanics in the phase space.

Quantum Discontents, or What Is Wrong with Our Science Practice

For more than eighty years, quantum theory (QT) has dominated physical science. This domination remains unchallenged to this day. Some physicists celebrate this remarkable stability. Others lament this fact and argue that QT inhibits our understanding of physical reality. They feel that numerous problems that have accumulated in physical science require stepping beyond the horizon outlined by QT. The article offers a critical examination of the foundational assumptions of QT that shape its practice. It uses two interpretations of QT as case studies—Copenhagen interpretation and the theoretical perspective advanced by American physicist David Bohm—to explain one major problem that continues to plague our study of physics. The article sketches a path to a possible solution and outlines a new science practice that this solution will require.

QUANTUM META-THEORY (Twisting the Tail of Schrödinger’s Cat)

The problem of Schrödinger’s Cat has figured prominently in the debates about the bearing of quantum physics on our understanding of physical reality. On its basis, various theorists have maintained the quantum physical world exhibits a probabilistically indecisive physical reality. The analysis of the paper that this appeal to quantum reality is methodologically at odds with and disjoint from its underlying approach to quantum theory itself. If there is to be methodological uniformity at this juncture it will have to be along the lines that Einstein always focused—an incomplete hidden factor (perhaps better than “hidden variables”) approach.

Information, Reality, and Modern Physics

ABSTRACTSince special relativity and quantum mechanics, information has become a central concept in our description and understanding of physical reality. This statement may be construed in different ways, depending on the meaning we attach to the concept of information, and on our ontological commitments. One distinction is between mind-independent ‘Shannon information’ and a traditional conception of information, connected with meaning and knowledge. Another, orthogonal, distinction is between information considered as a fundamental physical entity (Wheeler’s ‘it from bit’), and an ontological agnosticism where physics is about our information of the world rather than about the world itself. Combinations of these lead to various possibilities. I argue that adopting mind-independent information as ontologically fundamental is a hitherto undefended position with important advantages. This position appears similar to Floridi’s informational structural realism, but is fundamentally different. Rather than ‘epistemically indistinguishable differences’, it requires a robust conception of information as consisting of readable and interpretable messages.

COMPRENDERE LA FISICA QUANTISTICA: BREVE INTRODUZIONE PER PRINCIPIANTI

La fisica quantistica, rappresenta una delle maggiori scientifiche e culturali nella storia umana. Gran parte della moderna tecnologia e della nostra comprensione della realtà fisica si basano su di essa. La fisica quantistica rappresentò una reale rivoluzione culturale in quanto prevede un comportamento delle particelle che contraddice radicalmente il nostro modo di comprendere la realtà quotidiana e i presupposti su cui è stata fondata tutta la fisica precedente. Eppure, a distanza di un secolo dalla sua fondazione, a causa principalmente del formalismo matematico astratto e complesso su cui si basa, rimane per i non addetti ai lavori e per gli studenti di liceo qualcosa di misterioso e bizzarro. In questo lavoro illustriamo un approccio didattico, che prende spunto da recenti tentativi di riformulare questa teoria sulla base di principi fisici elementari. Tale approccio ha il vantaggio di non utilizzare il formalismo matematico degli spazi di Hibert e degli operatori Hermitiani, e di ricavare in modo intuitivo e ragionevole i concetti fondamentali di indeterminazione ed entanglement. Ci auguriamo che questo approccio possa contribuire ad una maggiore diffusione e comprensione di questo patrimonio scientifico e culturale.

On the nature of consciousness and of physical reality.

ON THE NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND OF PHYSICAL REALITY* DAVID L. WILSON^ For centuries the distinctness of the physical and mental worlds was taken for granted, and the ancient concept of physical matter as inert forced mind, with activity and awareness as its essences, into a separate universe. Twentieth-century physics has all but extinguished the view of matter as inert. Today, matter is viewed as a form of energy, and objects as dynamic clusters of elementary particles, each of which may be located in space only in a probabilistic sense. With this view of matter, one must avoid setting classical limitations on the properties and states we consider possible for matter and for physical systems in general. In this' paper, "mind" or "inner self will refer to some of the states and processes which arise from or contribute to internal brain structure. These processes include willing, consciousness, thought, and perception. The term "consciousness" is not limited to modern psychology's definition (". . . being awake and responsive . . ."[I]), but refers to selfawareness —awareness of sensations, thoughts, and certain other mental processes. It is necessary to remain vague about the definition of mind. The situation is somewhat analogous to that of defining "life" a century ago, when we could only list the scope of activities which we associated with living (growth, reproduction, metabolism, movement, etc.). Today we can explain and describe those activities in detail. Limits to Knowledge Most biologists have made one of three assumptions concerning the relationship between mental events and the physical world: (1) that men- *This article is adapted from lectures given at the California Institute of Technology in March 1972, and at a seminar on consciousness at Vassar College in March 1975. It was submitted as an entry in the first Perspectives Writing Award competition for authors 35 years old or younger. tDepartment of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33152. I thank Stephen Arch, Margaret Wilson, and Lincoln Potter for discussions and comments on drafts of this paper. 568 I David L. Wilson · On the Nature of Consciousness tal events are not causally effective in the physical world, (2) that mental events are causally effective but are not a part of the physical world, or (3) that mental events are causally effective and are a part of the physical world. After a more general consideration of mental development and the possible limits it sets on human knowledge, I will describe some implications of these three views of the relationship between mind and body, indicating weaknesses in all three views, but emphasizing the third as offering the most exciting possibility of a fundamental advance in our understanding of physical reality. Let us suppose (and I will return to this assumption) that each individual's perceptions, thoughts, and knowledge are based upon an internal (brain) structure which was originally dictated genetically, but with plasticity, thereby allowing alterations to occur through experience [2]. Thus, each individual develops as a consequence of his or her unique combination of genes and environment. But development ofself is not the consequence of a simple sum of the two. Instead, there is a complex, ongoing interaction between present brain structure and present environment which gives rise to altered brain structure. What limits might such a foundation impose on human knowledge? One possible limitation is in the structures (neuron morphologies, connectivities , and functional properties) which are inherent in the program for brain development. These structures might reflect forms of a priori knowledge rather than merely forming a "blank slate" on which to construct experiences. Eugene Wigner [3] has described another possible source of limitations: "In order to obtain any information of the outside world, in order to make any measurement or observation, it is necessary that one already possess a crude knowledge of his surroundings. . . . Scientific knowledge always leans on, and is impossible without, the type of knowledge which we acquired in babyhood." Does initial brain structure or early perceptual and conceptual development impose inescapable limits on human knowledge? The outside world and the inner self seem to present a duality: as child becomes adult, he comes to distinguish between his own thoughts, which appear upon the stage of consciousness...