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Raymond Solar's avatar

What is disturbing is that Causality as observed in the Classical realm exists. Quantum Mechanics must match the Classical per the Correspondence Principle. This presents a conundrum for scientists to resolve. The folks who want to sweep away Causality due to QM have a lot of 'spainin' to do, if so.

The popular view of QM entering into the mainstream was almost immediately wrapped up in convenient political and social cruft that appeared to paint the world as ordered by observations of individuals, lacking in discoverable cause, and became wrapped up in elements of religion (The 8-fold Way for example), usually through no fault of religious leaders. The "Me Generation" grabbed onto these interpretations tightly though.

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Humbert Rivière's avatar

This reminds me of a sentiment I've had towards the sciences, especially physics, in that it is almost all mathematicians but they have done away with the philosophizing.

My take-away of two great arguments in your article:

Argument 1: Isaac Newton demonstrated that the same physical laws controlled motion on Earth and in the skies, implying that similar causes resulted in similar consequences.

- If we can comprehend how reality works physically, we should be able to understand the principles that should rule society.

Argument 2: Quantum mechanics brings the certainty and causality demonstrated by Newton's work into question.

- If reality manifests in contradiction and everything is linked to its polar opposite, we can only examine the world probabilistically rather than causally.

- Therefore this viewpoint calls into question the notion that we can understand reality and draw objective rules of governance, as intellectuals such as Newton and Locke attempted to do.

- Newton's work influenced intellectuals such as John Locke to develop objective principles that govern the right connections between individuals and society.

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