Quanta and Complementarity – The Philosophy of Niels Bohr

Welcome to the final 2025 session of “Quanta and Complementarity”!

For our meeting on December 12, 2025, please:

• Read chapter 8 of Adam Becker’s book What is Real?, entitled “More Things in Heaven and Earth”
• Please also read the essay "Who Invented the Copenhagen Interpretation" by Don Howard https://www.informationphilosopher.com/solutions/scientists/howard/Copenhagen_Myth.pdf
• And listen to the 37-minute audio overview, “Bohr’s Realism and Quantum Reality” https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GkSGeJGTvJvB9aAMpb66OQaMb7PM-G7Q/view "Bohr_s_Realism_and_Quantum_Reality.m4a
• A fairly sophisticated “essay” by NotebookLM may be useful: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15WrV5o7hdeDjO0jkNY6i-L8zzhqc3VLAX3Y2-FQDbg4/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.gk0b2wyrew07

Becker’s chapter 8 describes the rise and fall of the philosophy of "positivism". In Becker's view, the decline in intellectual support for positivism was damaging to the reputation of what he calls the Copenhagen interpretation, although Becker himself acknowledges that Bohr disavowed being a positivist. Thus, Becker continues to attack a straw-man version of Bohr... Nevertheless, his review of this philosophical history is a helpful starting point for discussion.

Howard's essay traces the history of the term "Copenhagen interpretation" to the post-war writings of Heisenberg, which then became grist for the mill of Popper and other critics of Bohr. Besides untangling the history, Howard's essay presents a very concise summary of Bohr's actual contribution.

The 37-minute AI-generated “podcast” provides a perspective on Bohr’s thought and relevance which is, so to speak, complementary to Becker’s view.

As we read and discuss, please consider the following questions: What are meant by the terms “positivism”, “instrumentalism”, and “operationalism”? How are Bohr's ideas related to these philosophical approaches to science?

When we begin again in 2026 the meetup will focus on sharpening our understanding of Bohr’s thought, while also continuing to explore contemporary trends in the interpretation of quantum mechanics.

This will be the last meeting of the group focused on Becker's book. As such, this session will be a wrap-up regarding Becker’s perspective, and a turning point.

Meeting information:

Our live meeting will take place on Zoom.

Text-based discussions during and between live meetings will be hosted on the Blinding Cyclops Discord server. You can also find resources related to this seminar and reading assignments there. Join link: https://discord.gg/urPBsNTWuK. Channels related to this seminar can be found under the "Quantum Physics" category.

Syllabus:

We meet alternating Fridays at 4pm PT to discuss interpretations of quantum physics and the philosophy of Niels Bohr.

This seminar has begun with a close reading of a book critical of Niels Bohr, “What is Real?” by Adam Becker, so that we can become grounded in an opposing and critical viewpoint. It's also likely that we'll semi-regularly read source materials as a supplement.

Suggested secondary readings (which we’ll not cover directly but which may be referenced):

• “Quantum Reality,” by Nick Herbert
• “Beyond Weird,” by Philip Ball
• “Elegance and Enigma,” edited by Maximilian Schlosshauer