Three Conundrums of the Quantum Ontology
The purpose of this talk is to briefly recall the main principles of quantum mechanics in order to understand the ontological challenges introduced by the theory. In particular, I will argue that quantum mechanics defies the category of individual for three different reasons: contextuality, non-separability, and indistinguishability. Each one of these three features of the theory violates a traditional ontological principle: the Principle of Omnimode Determination, the Principle of Separability, and the Principle of Identity of Indiscernibles, respectively. Therefore, any interpretation of quantum mechanics should formulate a “global” solution, according to which the three ontological challenges could be adequately tackled in terms of a single ontology.
Authors
- Olímpia Lombardi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2204-7902)
Institutions
- Universidad de Buenos Aires (AR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Principia an international journal of epistemology
- Published
- 2026-10-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5007/1808-1711.2026.e110318
- Primary Topic
- Quantum Mechanics and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina