What are the philosophical implications of the uncertainty principle?

Question

What, if any, are the major philosophical consequences of the uncertainty principle?

Wikipedia describes the principle this way:

[T]he principle implies that it is impossible to simultaneously both measure the present position while "determining" the future momentum of an electron or any other particle with an arbitrary degree of accuracy and certainty.

Are there analyses in the literature? Which philosophers of science undertake a serious consideration of the principle's implications?

Questions about how Judiasm and Christianity understand this principle have been posted to their respective communities. — Caleb, Sep 03 '11 at 15:32
Searle's third law: "Anything philosophers say about quantum mechanics is BS and quantum physicists aren't much better." — MmmHmm, May 27 '18 at 15:25

score 9 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 19 '11 at 23:18

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I think this principle is highly abused. Its often used out of context. Especially in terms of our ability to measure things. But it really isn't saying anything about that, it's more a reflection of the fundamental nature of particles. Which must be understood in the context of quantum physics. So much evil is done in the name of quantum physics, by slicing out one aspect and relating it to the world of objects that we perceive as humans.

answered Jun 19 '11 at 23:18

Keith Nicholas

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I think the lesson is that purely technical results in science and mathematics can have their oversimplified executive summary exploited as inspiration for philosophical thought that, however useful, may not remain very faithful to the original technical result. So as long as such 'inspired' philosophy does not try to affect the original technical work, it should be judged on its own and not as inaccurate. Of course if the philosophy -does- try to comment on the original, it had better be technically correct. – Mitch Jun 20 '11 at 02:36
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can you cite a source claiming this principle is "highly abused" -- or even better, find some philosopher of science actually abusing the principle? – Joseph Weissman Jun 20 '11 at 20:29
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@Joe, I prefixed it with "I think" based on my conversations with people, and having seen such appalling things like "What the bleep do we know?" and "Deepak Chopra" and various others, and having people use those sources as a basis of serious discussion..... all taking sound bites out of context – Keith Nicholas Jun 20 '11 at 22:15
understood. Was just wondering if you had encountered examples of blatant abuse in the technical philosophical literature, a la Sokal, or whether you were reacting to general misinformation on the subject. – Joseph Weissman Jun 20 '11 at 22:18
I wish I could up-vote this answer twice: quantum physics and the uncertainty principle are widely abused in philosophy! – Ben May 30 '18 at 06:48
I'm with Joseph - I'd like to see examples of this abuse. My feeling is that physicists simply don't like it when philosophers explore the philosophical ramifications of QM, even though it's their job to do so. The quantum pioneers had no such problems and spent some time exploring but with their passing it seems that fear and trepidation set in. – Sep 18 '18 at 08:04

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 18 '11 at 06:23

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Le nouvel esprit Scientifique of Bachelard discusses this.

answered Jun 18 '11 at 06:23

robin girard

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Does it have an English translation? – Ooker May 26 '18 at 13:13
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaston_Bachelard points this one: The New Scientific Spirit. Beacon Press, Boston, 1985. Translation by A. Goldhammer. – robin girard Aug 09 '18 at 16:39

Ooker · Answer 3 · 2018-09-17T16:03:46.733

This is what I come up myself, which in my opinion it is heavily influenced by Buddhism philosophy and koans:

When choosing books I usually imagine the book is a painting, yet I forget to bring my eyeglass. If every time I close my eyes and reopen them I see a new painting, yet I still don't feel vague with it, then that book is worth reading.

This is an example of the uncertainty principle in signal processing:

Not that the principle is not necessary a quantum phenomenon, and has been used as a main metaphor/analogy between Buddhism and science.

Source:

B. Alan Wallace (ed), Buddhism and Science: breaking new ground (Columbia Univ Press 2003)
Vetterli, M., et al. Foundations of Signal Processing. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
3Blue1Brown. The More General Uncertainty Principle, beyond Quantum. 2018.

Related answer in Buddhism: If the self is scientifically measured, what is the Buddhist view on this?

What are the philosophical implications of the uncertainty principle?

3 Answers3