Work

The French crisis: Rethinking the phenomenology of quantum mechanics

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In his book, A Phenomenological Approach to Quantum Mechanics: Cutting the Chain of Correlations, Steven French argues that quantum mechanics, understood through the phenomenological lens of London and Bauer, turns physics into a "genuine science", and thus completes the project Edmund Husserl had started in his last major publication, The Crisis of European Sciences. What makes quantum mechanics a genuine science, according to French, is that it is fully grounded in the "lifeworld and transcendental subjectivity", just as Husserl dreamt. While we agree with French that London and Bauer's reading of quantum mechanics is inspired by and thus makes a step towards Husserl's phenomenology, we argue that a more encompassing phenomenological investigation is still needed if we are to avoid another crisis. More specifically, our claim is that French underestimates the "constitutional history" of the kinds of mathematical idealities that underlie quantum mechanics.

Source: Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A

DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.05.002

Authors: Arezoo Islami, Harald A. Wiltsche

Institutions: San Francisco State University, Linköping University

Language: English

Topic: Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,930

Funders: John Templeton Foundation, Linköpings Universitet