Does science need intersubjectivity? By Dr. Emily Adlam

TL;DR

This talk explores the challenge that Orthodox interpretations of quantum mechanics pose to the idea of shared facts and inter-subjectivity, highlighting the importance of these concepts for scientific confirmation.

Transcript

foreign Emily received her PhD in relativistic wonderful information actually at the University of Cambridge in 2017. then Emily has left Academia for four years and is that right I hope it's right and then since 2021 you've been a postdoc at the Rodman Institute of philosophy at Western University in London Ontario so you're a physicist and philos... Read More

Key Insights

• 🦾 Orthodox interpretations of quantum mechanics struggle to support shared facts and inter-subjectivity, which are essential for scientific confirmation and understanding.
• 🦾 Unitary quantum mechanics alone cannot provide the structure necessary to coordinate outcomes and establish shared facts.
• 🧑‍🏭 Proponents of Orthodox interpretations often make assertions about shared facts without providing a reasonable explanation or justification.
• 🧑 The insistence on a first-person perspective in these interpretations undermines their compatibility with scientific rationality.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why are shared facts and inter-subjectivity important in interpreting quantum mechanics?

Shared facts and inter-subjectivity are crucial because they allow for the comparison and communication of observations and experiences between observers, which is essential for empirical confirmation and scientific reasoning.

Q: How do Orthodox interpretations of quantum mechanics address the problem of shared facts and inter-subjectivity?

Orthodox interpretations, such as Copenhagen interpretations, suggest that there are no Observer independent facts and that quantum mechanics only describes individual perspectives. This undermines the possibility of shared facts and inter-subjectivity.

Q: Can decoherence solve the problem of shared facts in Orthodox interpretations?

No, decoherence cannot solve the problem because it only addresses the stability of individual perspectives and does not provide a mechanism for coordinating outcomes or establishing shared facts between observers.

Q: Is it possible to update Orthodox interpretations to allow for shared facts and inter-subjectivity?

The speaker proposes the idea of "cross-perspective links" as a way to introduce shared facts in Orthodox interpretations. However, this would require acknowledging that quantum mechanics is not complete on its own and adding structure to coordinate outcomes and perspectives.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The speaker discusses the issue with Orthodox interpretations of quantum mechanics, specifically their inability to support the idea of shared facts and inter-subjectivity.

• These interpretations make it difficult to ground the notion of inter-subjectivity, which is crucial for empirical confirmation and scientific understanding.

• Without the ability to share facts and experiences with other observers, these interpretations undermine their own claims and the rationality of quantum mechanics.