A Phenomenological Approach to Quantum Mechanics: Cutting the Chain of Correlations

Steven French suggests a radical new approach to the understanding of quantum physics, derived from Husserl's phenomenological philosophy. In 1939 two physicists, Fritz London and Edmund Bauer, published an account of measurement in quantum mechanics. Widely cited, their 'little book' featured centrally in an important debate over the role of consciousness in that process. However, it has been fundamentally misunderstood, both in that debate and beyond. Steven French argues that London, in particular, approached the measurement process from the perspective of Husserlian phenomenology, which he had studied as a student and which he retained an interest in throughout his career. This casts his work with Bauer in an entirely novel light and suggests a radical alternative understanding of quantum mechanics in which consciousness still plays a role but one that is fundamentally different than previously conceived. Most interpretations of the theory approach it on the basis of the so-called 'analytic' tradition in philosophy. However, there has recently been a surge of interest in 'continental' approaches and this book offers a significant new contribution to such developments. Intertwining history and philosophy, it presents London's background in physics and phenomenology, together with an outline of the latter as developed by Husserl, Gurwitsch, Merleau-Ponty, and others, as well as a detailed analysis of the work on measurement with Bauer. The book concludes by comparing the London and Bauer understanding with that afforded by Fuch's QBism, Everett's 'Many Worlds' interpretation, and Rovelli's Relational Quantum Mechanics. It is hoped that this exploratory work will open up new avenues of thought with regard to one of our most fundamental physical theories.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgments 1: The Measurement Problem (Featuring the Usual Suspects) 2: The Orthodox Solution, Its History and Multiplicity 3: The Debate About Consciousness 4: Physical and Phenomenological Networks 5: The Epoché and the Ego 6: London and Bauer Revisited 7: Completing the Crisis 8: QBism and the Subjective Stance 9: Many Worlds, Many Minds, and (Many) Relations 10: Interpretation or Reconstruction? References Index

About the Author :
Steven French is Emeritus Professor at the University of Leeds. He has previously taught in Brazil and the USA, and has published over 130 books and papers on a range of topics within the philosophy of science. He served three terms as Co-Editor-in-Chief of The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science and was also Editor-in-Chief of the Palgrave-Macmillan monograph series New Directions in Philosophy of Science. He is a past President of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science and an elected member of both the Academia Europaea and the Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences.

Review :
As the history of the first century of quantum mechanics is written (and rewritten), this book may emerge as a high point of a - perhaps surprising - late development: the resurgence of 'observer-oriented' interpretations of quantum mechanics. As the history of the first century of quantum mechanics is written (and rewritten), this book may emerge as a high point of a - perhaps surprising - late development: the resurgence of 'observer-oriented' interpretations of quantum mechanics. I found French's book refreshing and illuminating. Many books concern either the history of QM or the philosophy, but French shows us that we need more books on the history of philosophy of QM. This is a thoughtfully organized and well-researched book with an extensive (twenty-two page) bibliography. It is a great contribution to our understanding of the history of quantum physics. Recommended. It took a philosopher without prior ties to phenomenology to raise the bar and set a new standard for future work in the field. You may disagree with French as much as you like, but thanks to him, we now have at least the beginnings of a comprehensive phenomenological interpretation of quantum mechanics upon which future studies can build. In my view, elevating the phenomenology of science from its usual programmatic stance and positioning it within a concrete historical and systematic context is a tremendous achievement, and I wholeheartedly congratulate the author for it.