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Against Radical Quantum Ontologies
Author(s) -
Emery Nina
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
philosophy and phenomenological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1933-1592
pISSN - 0031-8205
DOI - 10.1111/phpr.12444
Subject(s) - simplicity , metaphysics , argument (complex analysis) , epistemology , realism , scientific realism , function (biology) , philosophy , space (punctuation) , theoretical physics , physics , chemistry , biochemistry , linguistics , evolutionary biology , biology
Some theories of quantum mechanical phenomena endorse wave function realism , according to which the physical space we inhabit is very different from the physical space we appear to inhabit. In this paper I explore an argument against wave function realism that appeals to a type of simplicity that, although often overlooked, plays a crucial role in scientific theory choice. The type of simplicity in question is simplicity of fit between the way a theory says the world is and the way the world appears to be. This argument can be understood as one way of spelling out the so‐called “incredulous stare objection” that is sometimes leveled against surprising metaphysical theories.