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What is the Logical Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2022

William Demopoulos
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Extract

Let me begin by briefly explaining the concept of ‘interpretation’ relevant to this discussion.

Certain physical theories postulate abstract structural constraints which events are held to satisfy. Such theories are termed ‘principle theories’. Interpretations of principle theories aim to explain their relation to the theories they replace. Interpretations are therefore concerned with the nature of the transitions between theories.

Theories of space-time structure provide the most accessible illustration of principle theories. For example, Newtonian mechanics in the absence of gravitation represents the 4-dimensional geometry of space-time by the inhomogeneous Galilean group, which acts transitively in the class of free motions, i.e. the inhomogeneous Galilean group is the symmetry group of the free motions: it is a subgroup of the symmetry group of every mechanical system, and the largest such subgroup. Einstein’s special principle of relativity is the hypothesis that the symmetry group of the free motions is the Poincaré group.

Type
Contributed Papers: Session V
Information
PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association , Volume 1974 , 1974 , pp. 721 - 728
Copyright
Copyright © 1976 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht-Holland

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