Complementary Descriptions and Quantum Mechanics

CHRISTIAN DE RONDE

Denver

Encuentro; Biennial Meeting of the International Quantum Structures Association, July 17-22, 2004; 2004

Denver University

Niels Bohr introduced the concept of complementarity in order to give a general account of quantum mechanics, however he stressed that the idea of complementarity is related to the general difficulty in the formation of ideas, inherent in the distinction between subject and object. In this article, we analyze the ideas of Bohr and present the prinicple of complementary description which takes into account Einstein's ontological position. We argue that this extension allows a better understanding of some of the paradigmatic interpretational porblems in quantum mechanics, such as the measurement problem and the quantum to classical limit. Within this approach we analyze the relation between holism and reductionism as well as several problems raised against modal interpretations such as those proposed by Arntzenius and Clifton. We conclude that one should further develop complementarity in order to elaborate a consistent world view.