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Cosmic hylomorphism : a powerist ontology of quantum mechanics

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Date
15/01/2021
Author
Simpson, William
Keywords
Primitive ontology
Quantum mechanics
Powers
Hylomorphism
B Philosophy (General)
T-NDAS
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Abstract
The primitive ontology approach to quantum mechanics seeks to account for quantum phenomena in terms of a distribution of matter in three-dimensional space (or four-dimensional spacetime) and a law of nature that describes its temporal development. This approach to explaining quantum phenomena is compatible with either a Humean or powerist account of laws. In this paper, I offer a powerist ontology in which the law is specified by Bohmian mechanics for a global configuration of particles. Unlike in other powerist ontologies, however, this law is not grounded in a structural power that is instantiated by the global configuration. Instead, I combine the primitive ontology approach with Aristotle’s doctrine of hylomorphism to create a new metaphysical model, in which the cosmos is a hylomorphic substance with an intrinsic power to choreograph the trajectories of the particles.
Citation
Simpson , W 2021 , ' Cosmic hylomorphism : a powerist ontology of quantum mechanics ' , European Journal for Philosophy of Science , vol. 11 , 28 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s13194-020-00342-5
Publication
European Journal for Philosophy of Science
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13194-020-00342-5
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © The Author(s) 2021. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Description
Funding: Templeton, God and the Book of Nature, Grant Id: 61507.
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  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/23081

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