Newsletter of Phenomenology

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(2017) Synthese 194 (11).

The logic of the future in quantum theory

Anthony Sudbery

pp. 4429-4453

According to quantum mechanics, statements about the future made by sentient beings like us are, in general, neither true nor false; they must satisfy a many-valued logic. I propose that the truth value of such a statement should be identified with the probability that the event it describes will occur. After reviewing the history of related ideas in logic, I argue that it gives an understanding of probability which is particularly satisfactory for use in quantum mechanics. I construct a lattice of future-tense propositions, with truth values in the interval [0, 1], and derive logical properties of these truth values given by the usual quantum-mechanical formula for the probability of a history.

Publication details

DOI: 10.1007/s11229-016-1142-9

Full citation:

Sudbery, A. (2017). The logic of the future in quantum theory. Synthese 194 (11), pp. 4429-4453.

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