Kockázik-e Isten? (A kvantummechanikai véletlen kérdése a filozófia kontextusában)
Does God Play Dice? (The Question on Quantum Mechanical Chance in the Contenxt of Philosophy)

Summary/Abstract: It is generally believed that quantum mechanics - through Heisenberg's uncertainty relations - demonstrates the reality of objective chance and thus provides scientific background for the possibility of free will. The paper argues against this widely held but erroneous view represented not only by the popular scientific literature but even by a great part of physicists, philosophers and theologians. The question about the reality of objective chance can become to be a matter of physics only in the framework of the physicalist view of the world according to which all existing entities and processes are of physical nature. However, physicalism is only one of the possible philosophies which can be questioned on the basis of other philosophies. Furthermore, even if we are committed to physicalism, quantum mechanics does not implicate objective chance since beside its indetermininstic Copenhagen interpretation deterministic interpretations also exist. Although the connection of the possibility of free will to objective chance can be traced back to Epicurus, in the framework of a physicalist world view free will is conceptually impossible even if we introduce objective chance: a will which is the result of blind play of chance can not be free. On the other hand, if we abandon physicalism, then for the possiblity of free will we will not need objective chance anymore. The problems of free will and objective chance are genuine philosophical problems which never can be solved by science.

• Details
• Contents