Content area

Abstract

Bohmian ontology includes particles and a wavefield. I explore how these objects give rise to the world we experience, which properties these fundamental objects have, and what kind of property is spin. Also, I present an example of how our choices about property attribution affect our evaluation of the nonlocality in the system.

According to the traditional presentation of Bohm's interpretation, a Bohmian world is "classical" in the sense that pointer states, mental states, etc., are composed of or supervene on particle properties alone. However, I show that this approach does not make sense and argue that a Bohmian account of these states must include both particle properties and wavefield properties. I then clarify the role this plays in a systematic account of Bohmian probability. Also, my discussion shows that Vink's interpretation does not give us the world we experience.

I then focus on particle and wavefield properties. I start by evaluating the recent arguments given by Brown et. al. that Bohmian particles do not bear properties such as gravitational mass, charge, etc. I reject their arguments but agree that (with the exception of inertial mass) we should not attribute these properties to Bohmian particles. I continue by examining the confusions underlying Cushing's (1995) proposal that a tunneling time measurement might be able to falsify Bohm's interpretation but neither verify or falsify the Copenhagen interpretation. The recognition that tunneling time is both a wavefield property and a particle property clarifies many of the issues. Next, I explain how Bohm's interpretation models spin measurements, the ways in which spin is contextual, and how Bohmian spin relates to the Kochen-Specker theorem. I also provide several reasons why we should not attribute spin vectors to Bohmian particles.

Finally, I use the framework of the Bell Inequalities to discuss a system in which the properties we decide to attribute, and the time at which we evaluate the system, affect the way in which the system evolves nonlocally.

Details

Title
Property attribution in Bohm's interpretation of quantum mechanics
Author
Kraus, Katherine Bedard
Year
1997
Publisher
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
ISBN
978-0-591-33503-3
Source type
Dissertation or Thesis
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
304370773
Copyright
Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works.