Quantum mechanics, strong emergence and ontological non-reducibility

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new interpretation of quantum mechanics that defines events independently of measurement, leading to a quantum ontology that reveals strong emergence and non-reducibility as natural features rooted in quantum structure.

Contribution

It introduces a measurement-independent quantum ontology and demonstrates that strong emergence and ontological non-reducibility are inherent in quantum systems.

Findings

Quantum ontology based on systems, states, and events

Strong emergence is a natural feature of quantum behavior

Ontological non-reducibility is rooted in quantum mathematics

Abstract

We show that a new interpretation of quantum mechanics, in which the notion of event is defined without reference to measurement or observers, allows to construct a quantum general ontology based on systems, states and events. Unlike the Copenhagen interpretation, it does not resort to elements of a classical ontology. The quantum ontology in turn allows us to recognize that a typical behavior of quantum systems exhibits strong emergence and ontological non-reducibility. Such phenomena are not exceptional but natural, and are rooted in the basic mathematical structure of quantum mechanics.