As the title says, I am looking for books on the philosophy of quantum mechanics; more specifically on ontology and or epistemolgy. So far I've found Tim Maudlin's Philosophy of Physics: Quantum Theory, which is quite broad, however I would like more suggestions.
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2Infinitely many... Jean Bricmont, Making Sense of Quantum Mechanics (Springer, 2016), Gennaro Auletta, The Quantum Mechanics Conundrum Interpretation and Foundations (2019, Springer), Franck Laloe, Do We Really Understand Quantum Mechanics? (Cambridge University Press, 2019)– Mauro ALLEGRANZACommented Sep 13, 2023 at 10:10
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2See SEP's entry on Philosophical Issues in Quantum Theory for an overview with biblio.– Mauro ALLEGRANZACommented Sep 13, 2023 at 10:11
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"The Emergent Multiverse" by David Wallace.– alanfCommented Sep 13, 2023 at 10:49
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1And you can see Cambridge's Series Elements in the Philosophy of Physics– Mauro ALLEGRANZACommented Sep 13, 2023 at 11:41
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1The principle philosophy of quantum mechanics is that quantum mechanics works for predicting measurements. So... Introduction to Quantum Mechanics by David Griffiths, if you want to know what those predictions look like.– g sCommented Sep 14, 2023 at 19:45
1 Answer
I am not an expert in the field of philosophy of quantum mechanics. However, I would like to recommend some books that draw my attention from these authors' discussions.
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science: Philosophical Foundations of Physics - Part VI Beyond Determinism (by Prof. Rudolf Carnap) [Intro]
Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science (by Prof. Werner Heisenberg)
As Professor Carnap added a comment to this book in a footnote [Intro,p.288],
On this point, ... I would like to recommend a little book by Werner Heisenberg called ... . It contains a clear account of the...
Philosophical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics (by Prof. Hans Reichenbach)
The Logic of Modern Physics - p.186-195 (by Prof. Percy W. Bridgman)
The Conceptual Development of Quantum Mechanics (by by Prof. Max Jammer)
The Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics: The Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics in Historical Perspective (by Prof. Max Jammer)
Although, these books might not related to the topics in ontology or epistemology (but one may find inspiration from these books), maybe it is better to skim the parts of the content before deciding whether you would like to spend time on them.
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2+1 For the OP, I have Jammer's work on the conceptual histories of force and mass, both of which are excellent and support an understanding of a theory of physicalism, so I'd endorse on the basis alone. And Bridgman constructed operationalism, so a big plus there.– J DCommented Sep 13, 2023 at 16:09
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1Thanks for your comment. Would you like to add a new answer below which mainly talks about your experience after reading Jammer's work? I would like to know also. What is your impression about his works? Any advantages or disadvantages compared to other authors? I hope to hear your great ideas! Commented Sep 13, 2023 at 17:00
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1Thanks for the response, I'll peruse this list. I'm currently reading an interesting article from the Foundations of Physics Journal: On the Classification Between ψ-Ontic and ψ-Epistemic Ontological Models.– PhysPhilCommented Sep 13, 2023 at 20:09
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@PhysPhil May I ask which book you find that it is useful to your question, and do you any comment/thought you would like to add on other books from this list? Please feel free to share what you think about the list. Commented Sep 21, 2023 at 15:07