From Complementarity to Quantum Properties: An Operational Reconstructive Approach

Abstract

Quantum theory brings into question the compatibility of the twin desiderata of exact knowability of the present state of the physical world and perfect predictability of its future states. Bohr's coordination-causality complementarity principle transforms this tension into one between properties (as ordinarily understood in classical physics) and deterministic causality. Here, we develop an explicit model of quantum properties which accommodates this essential tension. Our approach integrates operational, reconstructive, and metaphysical standpoints. In particular, we make use of an operational framework employed in a recent operational reconstruction of Feynman's formulation of quantum theory; base our property model on an analysis of property types; and use the notions of actuality and potentiality to frame the model. We show that this quantum property model provides a natural resolution of Zeno's paradox of motion, and provides reliable intuitions about phenomena such as electron diffraction and the non-local behaviour of entangled states of non-identical particles.

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