Shaking the Foundations: The Implications of Quantum Theory

The quantum view of the world departs from classical assumptions in three main ways.

1. Determinism has given way to an emphasis on probabilities. We simply do not have access to enough information to make deterministic predictions. And this is widely held to be a feature of the world rather than an observational limitation. See the Schrödinger Wave Equation and Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle.

2. Reductionism has given way to a more holistic approach to physical systems. See the EPR Paradox.

3. Most basic of all, the classical assumptions of continuity and divisibility (that between any two points there is an infinite number of intermediate values) have given way to quantisation - for certain physical quantities, the range of permissible values is severely restricted. See collapsing atoms.

Email link | Feedback | Contributed by: Dr. Christopher Southgate
Source: God, Humanity and the Cosmos  (T&T Clark, 1999)