Not individuals, nor even objects: On the ontological nature of quantum systems

OLIMPIA LOMBARDI

Non-Reflexive Logics, Non-Individuals, and the Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics

Springer - Synthese Library

Lugar: Dordrecht; Año: 2023; p. 45 - 77

What kind of item is a quantum system? In the practice of physics it is common totalk about quantum particles, as if they were items of a similar nature to classical items, but obeying different laws of motion. However, as it is well-known, quantum systems have features so peculiar that challenge certain ontological principles and categories as understood in traditional metaphysics. In general, those features are analyzed in the context of the so-called problem of indistinguishability, which results from the particular statistical behavior of quantum systems. But the fact that certain items are "indistinguishable" is not the only difficulty that needs to be overcome to elucidate the ontological category of quantum systems.