Quantum Reality as Life-Guiding
A Critical Analysis of the Existential Realist Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20249706 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gorazd Andrejč (0000-0003-2053-6147, University of Groningen, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 779 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-29 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel17070779 |
| OpenAlex | W7166680178 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 22 |
This essay offers a critical reading of Karen Barad’s and Heinrich Päs’ interpretations of quantum mechanics, using a Categorial Differentiation approach to science and religion, which is inspired by Wittgenstein and van Fraassen. Barad and Päs are ontological realists, but their philosophies of quantum mechanics depart from what I call scientistic realist interpretations of quantum mechanics, which are mainstream in the analytic philosophy of physics. After an overview of the ontological turn in the philosophy of quantum mechanics and explaining the basic difference between scientistic and existential kinds of realism, I examine the central features of Barad’s agential realism and Päs’ quantum monism. The Categorial Differentiation approach, which offers a normative perspective on the relationship between science and religion, is introduced, and its relevance for the philosophy (and theology) of quantum mechanics is explained. I conclude the essay with a critical analysis of Barad’s and Päs’ interpretations from this Wittgensteinian perspective, focusing on the ways in which they relate the science of quantum mechanics with their respective existential–moral visions
Existentialism · Interpretations of quantum mechanics · Mainstream · Minority interpretations of quantum mechanics · Normative · Perspective (graphical) · Philosophy of science · Quantum · Relevance (law) · Evolution and Science Education · Philosophy and History of Science · Theology and Philosophy of Evil
Flourishing
Feelings of Being
Unified dynamics for microscopic and macroscopic systems
Between Evidence and Emotions
How Schrödinger’s Cat Became a Zombie
Quantum holism
Monism
On the Common Structure of Bohmian Mechanics and the Ghirardi–Rimini–Weber Theory
Aconsilience of Equal Regard
Undisciplining the study of religion
Pantheism from the Perspective of Wittgensteinian Nonoverlapping Magisteria (WNOMA)
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |