Sudbery, Anthony (2017) The logic of the future in quantum theory. Synthese. 4429–4453. ISSN: 0023-7857
Abstract
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.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Authors/Creators: |
|
| Dates: |
|
| Institution: | The University of York |
| Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Mathematics (York) |
| Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Mar 2017 12:20 |
| Last Modified: | 17 Sep 2025 00:21 |
| Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-016-1142-9 |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Identification Number: | 10.1007/s11229-016-1142-9 |
| Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:114152 |
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)