Quantum physics disrupts this view at every turn. In place of determinate states and local objects, we find superposition, entanglement, and context-dependence. Properties emerge only in relation to other properties. Observation is not passive detection but active selection. The classical image of reality as a collection of self-subsisting things gives way to a more subtle vision: reality as relational coherence.
This post asks: if quantum physics forces us to move beyond classical ontology, what kind of reality does it reveal?
1. The Collapse of Classical Realism
In the quantum domain:
-
A system does not have a definite position or momentum until it is measured.
-
The choice of what to measure influences the outcome—suggesting that observables are not intrinsic.
-
Entangled systems display correlations that cannot be explained by local properties alone.
These features imply that reality cannot be fully described by a list of object-properties. Instead, it seems to be constituted through interaction—what exists is not what is, but what becomes.
2. A Relational Ontology of Reality
A relational ontology proposes that:
-
Relations are ontologically primary. Entities are nodes in a web of mutual constraint and affordance.
-
Properties are contextual: they emerge from interactions within a structured field.
-
Reality is not a fixed inventory but a dynamic, ongoing process of differentiation and coherence.
In this view, the world is not built up from indivisible parts, but unfolds through relational actualisations of potential.
3. The Ontological Status of Potential
Quantum physics assigns real structure to potentiality:
-
The wavefunction encodes the range of possible outcomes, not just our ignorance.
-
Actual events (measurements) select from within this space of potential, but the potential itself shapes what is possible.
-
Thus, potential is not mere abstraction—it is a constitutive aspect of the real.
This challenges the classical assumption that only actual things exist. In a quantum-relational ontology, reality includes the virtual, the not-yet-actual, as a fundamental ontological category.
4. Existence Without Substance
What does it mean to exist in such a world?
-
Not to be a thing located in spacetime, but to participate in a field of mutual determination.
-
Existence is relational presence: to exist is to be situated in a pattern of constraints and affordances.
-
Nothing exists “on its own”—what is real is what holds together in a network of systemic coherence.
Being is event-like, not object-like. Reality is a dance of becoming, not a warehouse of things.
5. Philosophical Consequences
This ontological shift has wide-ranging implications:
-
Realism without objectivism: the world is real, but not independent of the conditions through which it is known,
-
Plurality without fragmentation: the real is multiple, but not chaotic—it is structured by coherence, not substance,
-
Responsibility without dominion: we are part of the reality we inquire into—co-constitutors, not observers.
Science, under this view, is not the pursuit of detached truth, but a relational practice of attunement.
Closing
Quantum mechanics calls for a new conception of reality—not as substance, but as relation; not as static being, but as patterned becoming. The real is not what lies beneath appearances, but what emerges through constraint, coherence, and interaction.
In the next post, we’ll reflect on the role of the observer—not as a privileged subject, but as a participant in the relational unfolding of the real.
No comments:
Post a Comment