The Nature of the Controversy over Time-Symmetric Quantum Counterfactuals
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10704244 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ruth E Kastner (0000-0003-4466-6376, University of Maryland, College Park, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 145-163 |
| Publication date | 2003-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-8248 • E-ISSN: 1539-767X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1086/367874 |
| OpenAlex | W2019290583 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 5 |
It is proposed that the recent controversy over “time-symmetric quantum counterfactuals” (TSQCs), based on the Aharonov-Bergmann-Lebowitz Rule for measurements of pre- and post-selected systems, can be clarified by taking TSQCs to be counterfactuals with a specific type of compound antecedent. In that case, inconsistency proofs such as that of Sharp and Shanks (1993) are not applicable, and the main issue becomes not whether such statements are true, but whether they are nontrivial. The latter question is addressed and answered in the negative. Thus it is concluded that TSQCs, understood as counterfactuals with a compound antecedent, are true but only trivially so, and provide no new contingent information about specific quantum systems (except in special cases already identified in literature)
Antecedent (behavioral psychology) · Calculus (dental) · Counterfactual conditional · Counterfactual thinking · Epistemology · Mathematical economics · Mathematical proof · Physics · Quantum · Quantum mechanics · Theoretical physics · Mathematics · Medicine · Philosophy · Psychology · Quantum Information and Cryptography · Quantum Mechanics and Applications · Social Psychology · Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Studies
| Citations per year | 0.14 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2005 - 2017 (13) |
| Highly cited | No |