> On Sep 30, 2014, at 7:24 AM, Howard Pattee <hpat...@roadrunner.com> wrote: > > At 08:58 PM 9/29/2014, Clark Goble wrote: >>> HP: To get a fairer picture of how physicists think, please peruse this >>> survey <http://arxiv.org/pdf/1301.1069v1.pdf>. >> >> CG: I'd seen that before. While it's a great guide to interpretations of >> quantum mechanics it really doesn't address the nominalism issue. > > HP: I'm curious how you would state the nominalism issue? In my view, in at > least half the questions the answers imply a pro- or anti-nominalistic stance > (Questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 15).
To me nominalism is whether there are just particular things and not real generals. I don’t quite see how whether there’s really randomness (a property of the fundamental things), whether there are hidden variables, whether one should take a more epistemic view of QM, the role or the observer or so forth apply. Even with regards to interpretations of QM I’m not sure those get at the issue, although they are closer. For instance, within the Everett MWI what are the ultimate constituents? Likewise with information-theoretical interpretations is the information the fundamental things? If so then if that’s all there is, isn’t that nominalism? So I confess I’m a bit confused. Admittedly with regards to quantum mechanics things are odd enough that one has to unpack a lot. Further the authors note that a lot of the terms are intentionally left unpacked. So it’s not even clear how we are to take the terms. (Which I think is a bad thing in a poll like this where there may be ignorance or equivocation with regards to the terms) Since you appear to think those question imply many physicists aren’t nominalists, could you perhaps clarify why? Maybe I’m just thinking about this all wrong.
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