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    Quantum Mechanics: And the Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead
    Unavailable
    Quantum Mechanics: And the Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead
    Unavailable
    Quantum Mechanics: And the Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead
    Ebook415 pages8 hours

    Quantum Mechanics: And the Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead

    By Michael Epperson

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    An ambitious analysis of the parallels between Whitehead’s process metaphysics and the ontological quandaries of quantum mechanics—“a brilliant book” (John B. Cobb, Jr., Director, Center for Process Studies).
     
    The emergence of quantum mechanics in the mid-twentieth century had significant implications that reached well beyond the realm of theoretical physics. In a number of works, including Process and Reality, philosopher and mathematician Alfred North Whitehead struggled to come to terms with the impact the new science would have on metaphysics.
     
    This ambitious book is the first extended analysis of the intricate relationships between relativity theory, quantum mechanics, and Whitehead's cosmology. Michael Epperson illuminates the intersection of science and philosophy in Whitehead's work—and details Whitehead's attempts to fashion an ontology coherent with quantum anomalies.
     
    Including an introduction to quantum mechanics for non-specialists, Epperson adds an essential new dimension to our understanding of Whitehead—and of the constantly enriching encounter between science and philosophy.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateSep 18, 2018
    ISBN9780823283064
    Unavailable
    Quantum Mechanics: And the Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead

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    • 4/5
      Granted, we are all intrigued with the parallelism in the work of Physicists and Philosophers. And Whitehead is one of the most thorough and informed of the explorers of the common ground of notions drawn between these two very different approaches to knowledge. So the choice of Whitehead by Michael Epperson is more than appropriate.Epperson expands on the correlation between the physics and the philosophy shown by Whitehead. Using Whitehead's decoherence-based interpretation of quantum mechanics, Epperson reveals the precise correlation with Whitehead's philosophy of "concrescence". This in turn uncloaks the ontological significance of quantum mechanics. Helpful to see the congruity between Whitehead's cosmology and quantum theory spelled out, although in process terms. Whitehead himself left us only with a fairly-obscure and technical analysis of the phases of "concrescence" of momentary occasions correlated to quantum events. This work also points to further inquiries--directions which may be fruitful as we explore and interpret experiments, many of which remain paradoxical, in quantum physics. Epperson clears the air but also raises more dust in the transition from potentiality to actuality in elementary events.