학술논문

The relative facts interpretation and Everett's {\it note added in proof}.
Document Type
Journal
Author
Conroy, Christina (1-MSU-HQR) AMS Author Profile
Source
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. Part B. Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics (Stud. Hist. Philos. Sci. B Stud. Hist. Philos. Modern Phys.) (20120101), 43, no.~2, 112-120. ISSN: 1355-2198 (print).eISSN: 1879-2502.
Subject
81 Quantum theory -- 81P Axiomatics, foundations, philosophy
  81P05 General and philosophical
Language
English
Abstract
Summary: ``In the published version of Hugh Everett III's doctoral dissertation [{\it On the foundations of quantum mechanics}, Dr. Diss. Ser., Pub. no. 23,816, Univ. Microfilms, Ann Arbor, MI, 1963], he inserted what has become a famous footnote, the `note added in proof'. This footnote is often the strongest evidence given for any of various interpretations of Everett (the many worlds, many minds, many histories and many threads interpretations). In this paper I will propose a new interpretation of the footnote. One that is supported by evidence found in letters written to and by Everett; one that is suggested by a new interpretation of Everett, an interpretation that takes seriously the central position of relative states in Everett's pure wave mechanics: the relative facts interpretation. Of central interest in this paper is how to make sense of Everett's claim in the `note added in proof' that `all elements of a superposition (all `branches') are `actual,' none any more `real' than the rest.'\,''