Does Quantum Mechanics Disprove the Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles?
- 1 September 1978
- journal article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Philosophy of Science
- Vol. 45 (3) , 466-470
- https://doi.org/10.1086/288822
Abstract
Alberto Cortes, in [1], attempts to show (a) that Leibniz's Principle of The Identity of Indiscernibles (L) is a principle restricted to individuals (as distinct from a class of entities Cortes takes to be non-individuals), and (b) that photons (light quanta) appear to violate L (since they don't obey Pauli's Exclusion Principle). L is stated by Leibniz as “no two substances are completely similar, or differ solo numero.” In second-order quantification theory with identity L becomes:Keywords
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