[论文解读] Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy in the Research on the Foundations of Quantum Physics: E. P. Wigner's Case

Olival Freire|arXiv (Cornell University)|Feb 4, 2006

Quantum Mechanics and Applications参考文献 38被引用 11

一句话总结

本文探讨了尤金·维格纳在挑战量子力学哥本哈根诠释中的角色，表明他虽力图捍卫正统观念——尤其是基于意识的测量理论——最终却使其成为异端。尽管其关于意识的观点被摒弃，但维格纳对测量问题的持续批判以及对基础研究的倡导，有助于使量子物理基础研究成为一门独立的科学领域。

ABSTRACT

Dealing with Eugene Wigner's ideas on the measurement procedure in quantum physics and unearthing the controversy that pitted him against supporters of the interpretation of complementarity, I will show how Wigner and his followers contributed to the defeat of a seemingly unshakeable consensus. In fact, although he intended to defend what seemed to him to be orthodoxy, he himself became a heterodox. I suggest that Wigner's conjectures on the role of consciousness in physical phenomena were not fruitful and were discarded, being today part of the history of physics rather than physics proper. However, his ideas and actions left an indelible mark on the physics of the second half of the 20th century. Namely, he formulated his ideas in opposition to the Copenhagen monocracy, which held a stronghold on the interpretation of quantum physics until the late 1960s; he stressed the unsolved status of the measurement problem; and he effectively defended his ideas and supported those who were willing to investigate the foundations of quantum physics. He thus contributed to the creation of a new field of physical research, that of the foundations of quantum physics, which attributed a higher scientific status to the old controversy on the interpretations and foundations of this theory. This new field has had to deal with important theoretical, experimental, and philosophical issues, and significant repercussions have arisen in the last decades.

研究动机与目标

• 分析尤金·维格纳在量子基础领域的思想轨迹，尤其是其与主流诠释的分道扬镳。
• 探究维格纳将意识引入测量过程的主张如何挑战主导的哥本哈根诠释。
• 评估维格纳思想对量子基础作为一门科学学科发展的长期影响。
• 厘清20世纪量子基础研究中正统与异端的区分。
• 解释维格纳的工作如何在特定理论被最终否定的情况下，仍有助于使基础研究在量子物理中获得合法性。

提出的方法

• 分析维格纳关于量子测量与意识问题的著作及通信中的原始文献。
• 追溯哥本哈根诠释的历史发展及其在20世纪中期的主导地位。
• 审视维格纳与玻尔互补性诠释支持者之间的思想冲突。
• 评估维格纳思想在更广泛的物理学界与哲学文献中的接受度与遗产。
• 评估维格纳倡导基础研究所带来的制度与认识论后果。
• 运用历史与哲学分析，将维格纳的贡献置于量子基础作为科学领域的发展脉络中。

实验结果

研究问题

• RQ1 维格纳关于意识在量子测量中作用的观点如何挑战哥本哈根诠释？
• RQ2 为何维格纳试图捍卫正统观念的尝试，最终使其在量子基础领域成为异端人物？
• RQ3 维格纳对基础研究的倡导带来了哪些制度与思想后果？
• RQ4 维格纳的工作如何促成了量子基础作为一门合法科学领域的出现？
• RQ5 为何维格纳关于意识的具体主张最终被否定，而其影响仍存留至今？

主要发现

• 尽管维格纳将意识引入量子测量过程的主张最终被否定，但其在瓦解哥本哈根诠释主导地位方面发挥了关键作用。
• 尽管其本意是捍卫正统，维格纳对测量问题的持续批判仍使其在基础争论中被视为异端。
• 维格纳的努力有助于使量子物理的基础研究获得合法性，使其从哲学边缘转变为公认的科学领域。
• 他提供的制度支持与对替代方法的智力辩护，鼓励了一代物理学家认真探索基础问题。
• 围绕维格纳思想的争议，促成了基础研究作为理论物理核心组成部分的更广泛接受。
• 如今，维格纳关于意识的具体主张被视为物理学史的一部分，而非当前物理理论的内容。