TY - JOUR
T1 - From Quantum Axiomatics to Quantum Conceptuality
AU - Aerts, Diederik
AU - Sassoli De Bianchi, Massimiliano
AU - Sozzo, Sandro
AU - Veloz, Tomas
N1 - 11 pages
PY - 2019/6/15
Y1 - 2019/6/15
N2 - Since its inception, many physicists have seen in quantum mechanics the possibility, if not the necessity, of bringing cognitive aspects into the play, which were instead absent, or unnoticed, in the previous classical theories. In this article, we outline the path that led us to support the hypothesis that our physical reality is fundamentally conceptual-like and cognitivistic-like. However, contrary to the “abstract ego hypothesis” introduced by John von Neumann and further explored, in more recent times, by Henry Stapp, our approach does not rely on the measurement problem as expressing a possible “gap in physical causation,” which would point to a reality lying beyond the mind-matter distinction. On the contrary, in our approach, the measurement problem is considered to be essentially solved, at least for what concerns the origin of quantum probabilities, which we have reasons to believe they would be epistemic. Our conclusion that conceptuality and cognition would be an integral part of all physical processes comes instead from the observation of the striking similarities between the non-spatial behavior of the quantum micro-physical entities and that of the human concepts. This gave birth to a new interpretation of quantum mechanics, called the “conceptuality interpretation,” currently under investigation within our group in Brussels.
AB - Since its inception, many physicists have seen in quantum mechanics the possibility, if not the necessity, of bringing cognitive aspects into the play, which were instead absent, or unnoticed, in the previous classical theories. In this article, we outline the path that led us to support the hypothesis that our physical reality is fundamentally conceptual-like and cognitivistic-like. However, contrary to the “abstract ego hypothesis” introduced by John von Neumann and further explored, in more recent times, by Henry Stapp, our approach does not rely on the measurement problem as expressing a possible “gap in physical causation,” which would point to a reality lying beyond the mind-matter distinction. On the contrary, in our approach, the measurement problem is considered to be essentially solved, at least for what concerns the origin of quantum probabilities, which we have reasons to believe they would be epistemic. Our conclusion that conceptuality and cognition would be an integral part of all physical processes comes instead from the observation of the striking similarities between the non-spatial behavior of the quantum micro-physical entities and that of the human concepts. This gave birth to a new interpretation of quantum mechanics, called the “conceptuality interpretation,” currently under investigation within our group in Brussels.
KW - Conceptuality interpretation
KW - Extended Bloch representation
KW - Non-spatiality
KW - Quantum cognition
KW - Quantum probabilities
KW - Quantum structures
KW - Quantum theory
UR - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41470-019-00030-7
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85066410188&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s41470-019-00030-7
DO - 10.1007/s41470-019-00030-7
M3 - Article
VL - 61
SP - 76
EP - 82
JO - Activitas Nervosa Superior
JF - Activitas Nervosa Superior
SN - 0001-7604
IS - 1-2
ER -