Over two thousand years ago, Aristotle concluded that our reality consists of:
“… a multitude of single things (substances), each of them characterized by intrinsic properties …” (Audretsch, 2004, p274).
This view, later called materialism, was simple, intuitive, and fruitful. It was simple because things then caused everything, it was intuitive because they then consisted of fundamental particles, and it was fruitful because studying matter made science grow.
Materialism as the ancestor of physicalism has served science well over the years but what worked in the past doesn’t always work today, as the harsh truth of particle physics is that it can’t explain how light behaves. A particle can’t go through two slits to interfere with itself but light can. A particle can’t detect an object without touching it but light can. A particle can’t always find the fastest path to any destination but light can. A particle can’t decide its path after it arrives but light can. Particles can’t interact faster than light but entangled photons can. Materialism is the mother of physics but now when reality bites, it has no answers.
Then along came quantum theory with all the answers based on quantum waves. It was perfect but for the fact that quantum waves are physically impossible. Nature confirmed quantum theory in every case but physics disowned it, based on its physical tradition, to instead believe in miracles and fairy tales.
3.9.1. Fairy Tales for Physicists
3.9.2. Quantum Theory is Science
3.9.3. The Measurement Problem
3.9.4. Beyond Physicalism
3.9.5. The Unmeasured Reality
3.9.6. Plato’s Cave