Siddharth Vashi

PH270

Quantum Mechanics and Realism

Following significant scientific breakthroughs in 1925, the advent of a
quantum theory of matter led many physicists to claim that the materialist
worldview was no longer valid. Here I will provide an overview of this line of
reasoning, and show how relatively recent experiments in quantum
mechanics rebuke many of the common objections to the argument against
realism.
Materialism is an extreme interpretation of the realist thesis that a
physical reality exists independent of observation. According to materialists,
all elements pertaining to this reality exist as matter and energy. While this
thesis is intuitively feasible, early experiments in quantum mechanics such
as the double slit experiment provided substantial evidence for its
contradiction.
In the double slit experiments, electrons were shot through a piece of
metal containing two slits through which they could pass, eventually colliding
with a back wall. The pattern that appeared on the back wall was thought to
determine whether the electron behaved as a particle or a wave. If it
behaved as a wave, then a single electron would pass through both slits
simultaneously and consequently produce an interference pattern on the
back wall by virtue of the wave being split and interacting with itself.
Conversely, if the electron behaved as a particle then no interference pattern
would be observed and the back wall would show a two slit pattern,

Siddharth Vashi
PH270

indicating that the electrons had to pass through one slit or the other instead
of both at the same time.
What scientists observed was that the back wall did indeed show an
interference pattern, which meant that the electron must have behaved as a
wave and passed through both slits at the same time. This dispelled the
common notion that matter could be reduced to the activity of tiny particles,
for it was clear that one of the most elementary particles did not display
particle like behavior. However, scientists soon realized that this was not the
case either. In order to directly observe the behavior of the electron moving
through the slits, the experimenters placed a measuring device at the point
of contact between the electron and the slits. In doing so they were able to
observe the electron behaving as a particle, moving through one slit or the
other. Consequently, the back wall no longer showed a pattern of
interference indicative of a passing wave, but rather a two-slit pattern
resulting from the propulsion of individual particles.
The main conclusion drawn from the double slit experiment was that
the act of observation causes the wave function of an electron to collapse
and create the existence of particulate matter. This implied that matter did
not exist independent of observation, which challenged the realist
conception of a mind-independent reality. The results of the double slit
experiment also corroborated with the philosophical conclusions drawn from
the Schrodinger equation, namely that the wave like nature of a particle
represents the probability of finding the object in a specific location. It is

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important to note that it does not represent the probability that the object is
actually in location, since the object does not ascertain a specific location
until it is found.
The troubling implications of the Schrodinger equation and the double
slit experiment led Einstein to develop a thought experiment questioning the
conclusions of quantum theory. According to Einstein (1935), if two particles
are placed in a joint superposition such that the activity of one would
instantaneously affect the other, and are then subsequently separated by a
great distance, the observation of one must immediately affect the behavior
of the other. However, since information cannot travel faster than light
without violating relativity, this effect was thought to be impossible. Instead,
Einstein claimed that this "spooky action at a distance" was due to the
activity of some undiscovered local factor that affected the behavior of
particles independent of observational effects. Based on this reasoning,
Einstein was led to propose that matter did indeed act independent of
observation, but appeared to be observation dependent from our
perspective.
Einsteins qualms with quantum mechanics were soon dismissed due to
the results obtained from Alain Aspect's experiments on quantum
entanglement. The experiments showed that particles in superposition were
in fact 'entangled', causing a change in one particle to instantaneously affect
the behavior of its counterpart independent of the spatial relationship
between the two. Since Einstein's 'spooky action at a distance' could now be

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explained without ascribing the influence of external factors to the behavior

of the particles, the conclusion that matter acted independent of observation
was no longer tenable from an experimental perspective.
The results of Aspect's quantum entanglement experiments confirmed
what the double slit experiments implied: Objects do not have defined
properties or location until they are measured, and it is the act of a conscious
observer that creates the existence of physical objects. Of course, these
implications are incompatible with materialism since matter cannot be mindindependent if its properties are determined by observation. Therefore, it can
be said that materialism is not a valid hypothesis because it is incongruous
with what we know about quantum mechanics.
To say that materialism is false is no doubt a troubling statement,
because it leads us to the conclusion that we are not just passive observers
of reality, but rather conscious beings that have a heavy hand in creating it.
This idea can be further illustrated through the results of a modified double
slit experiment. This time, instead of placing the measuring apparatus just
before the slits we place it behind the back wall until just after the particle
has moved through the double slit. If matter acted independently of
observation then the particle would have passed through the slits as a wave
and an interference pattern should be observed immediately prior to
collision. In fact, this is not the case: Not only will an interference pattern not
be observed, but a two-slit pattern will be observed despite the particle
having theoretically traveled through the slits as a wave! Although this

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PH270

modified double slit experiment is a simplified extrapolation of a much more

complex experiment conducted by Kim et. al in 1999, the results of both
experiments lead to the same conclusion. Observation effects not only bring
matter into existence, but also create histories for particles of matter that did
not exist before. Therefore, it would be incorrect to assume that the
measured features of a system exist prior to the act of measurement, further
strengthening the case against a reality independent of observation.
Despite the overwhelming evidence provided by quantum mechanics,
proponents of realism have offered several counterarguments in support of a
mind-independent reality. One way of attacking the problem is to claim that
the quantum world and the so-called 'macro' world are distinct domains of
reality. However, recent studies have shown that the macro world does in
fact emerge from the quantum world (Brukner & Kofler, 2012). Furthermore,
quantum behaviors have been observed in objects much larger than
electrons. The wave-like natures of atoms and some larger molecules have
been confirmed through double slit experiments, and it is likely that
observable objects in the macro world like proteins and viruses will show
similar results. (Romero-Isart et. al, 2010) Effects of quantum entanglement
have even been shown in objects that are observable to the naked eye,
further illustrating the integral relationship between the quantum world and
the macro-world.
Another proposed refutation of quantum mechanics is the many worlds
interpretation, which claims that wave functions of particles do not collapse

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upon measurement, but rather every possibility contained within that wave
form splits off into different worlds. This interpretation is not only far-fetched;
it also violates the principle of Occam's Razor which states that entities
should not be multiplied unnecessarily. Additionally, if we were to consider
the sheer number of the quantum events that occur at any given time in a
living organism then, according to the many worlds interpretation, an
incomprehensible number of worlds are created at any given moment. This
objection to the conclusions drawn from quantum mechanics is therefore less
conceivable than the implications previously discussed.
We might be too quick to conclude that a mind-independent reality
does not exist, but it is clear that all of the evidence presented by
experiments in quantum mechanics shows this to be the case. However, the
implications of a mind-dependent reality lead us to further problems. If our
minds are responsible for establishing the reality of matter, then how can it
be the case that our mind is a product of real matter? Either it is the case
that minds alone exist irrespective of a physical reality, or there is a higher
conscious that brings matter into existence. Quantum mechanics allows us to
confer theories of God, solipsism, and mind-independent reality which may
only be answered by further experimentation. Until then we are forced to
reflect and perhaps be troubled by the notion that the world around us,
which seems to bring us joy, pain, and boredom without our consent, may
very well depend on our perception of it.

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Works Cited
Einstein, A., B. Podolsky, and N. Rosen. "Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of
Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?" Physical Review 47.10 (1935):
777-80. Print.
Fine, Arthur. "The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Argument in Quantum Theory." Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., 10 May 2004. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
Kim, Yoon-Ho, Rong Yu, Sergei Kulik, Yanhua Shih, and Marlan Scully. "Delayed
Choice Quantum Eraser." Physical Review Letters 84.1 (2000): 1-5. Print.
Kofler, Johannes, and aslav Brukner. "Condition for Macroscopic Realism beyond
the Leggett-Garg Inequalities." Physical Review A 87.5 (2013): n. pag. Print.
"Leggett-Garg Inequality." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia, n.d. Web.
Miller, Alexander. "Realism." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., 08 July
2002. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
Romero-Isart, Oriol, Mathieu L. Juan, Romain Quidant, and J. Ignacio Cirac. "Toward
Quantum Superposition of Living Organisms." New Journal of Physics 12.3
(2010): 033015. Print.