Analysis of Wallace’s Proof of the Born Rule in Everettian Quantum Mechanics II: Concepts and Axioms

Having analyzed the formal aspects of Wallace’s proof of the Born rule, we now discuss the concepts and axioms upon which it is built. Justification for most axioms is shown to be problematic, and at times contradictory. Some of the problems are caused by ambiguities in the concepts used. We conclud...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Foundations of physics 2019-01, Vol.49 (1), p.24-52
Main Author: Mandolesi, André L. G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Axioms
Classical and Quantum Gravitation
Classical Mechanics
History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics
Philosophy of Science
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Quantum mechanics
Quantum Physics
Quantum theory
Relativity Theory
Statistical Physics and Dynamical Systems
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Summary:Having analyzed the formal aspects of Wallace’s proof of the Born rule, we now discuss the concepts and axioms upon which it is built. Justification for most axioms is shown to be problematic, and at times contradictory. Some of the problems are caused by ambiguities in the concepts used. We conclude the axioms are not reasonable enough to be taken as mandates of rationality in Everettian Quantum Mechanics. This invalidates the interpretation of Wallace’s result as meaning it would be rational for Everettian agents to decide using the Born rule.
ISSN:0015-9018
1572-9516
DOI:10.1007/s10701-018-0226-4