Abstract:
This paper reflects on what is
required
of a correct interpretation of quantum mechanics. That is to say, it
does not defend any of the existing interpretations, nor does it offer
a novel interpretation as the correct one. Rather, it
considers what
sense can be made of the notion that any particular interpretation of
the theory, among the many that have been advocated, captures the
essential physical content of the theory, and the essential points at
which our world departs from the classical picture of it. While this
notion seem naïve on its face, in light of ongoing philosophical
controversy regarding quantum mechanics, I argue that we do have such
a notion in the case of space-time theories, emerging from the
conceptual analyses through which our understanding of space-time has
evolved. Therefore it is reasonable to ask whether quantum mechanics is
susceptible to a similar analysis, and thus whether a distinction can
be made between essentially subjective philosophical perspectives on
the theory, and “the theory itself.” I will consider, among
other things, what insight is to be gained by applying Einstein’s
notion of a “principle theory” to this question, and how
the question bears on more general issues in the philosophy of science.