The Consistent Histories Formalism and the Measurement Problem

TL;DR

This paper argues that the Consistent Histories formalism of quantum mechanics does not resolve the measurement problem because it fails to meet criteria for fundamental, context-independent descriptions of measurement outcomes, and dismisses the second measurement problem as a pseudo-problem.

Contribution

The paper critically evaluates the claims that the Consistent Histories approach solves the measurement problem, highlighting its shortcomings and clarifying misconceptions about the second measurement problem.

Findings

Consistent Histories does not provide a fundamental, context-independent solution to measurement.

The second measurement problem is considered a pseudo-problem by the authors.

The formalism fails to avoid anthropomorphic terms at the fundamental level.

Abstract

In response to a recent rebuttal of [1] presented in [2], we defend the claim that the Consistent Histories formulation of quantum mechanics does not solve the measurement problem. In order to do so, we argue that satisfactory solutions to the problem must not only not contain anthropomorphic terms (such as measurement or observer) at the fundamental level, but also that applications of the formalism to concrete situations (e.g., measurements) should not require any input not contained in the description of the situation at hand at the fundamental level. Our assertion is that the Consistent Histories formalism does not meet the second criterion. We also argue that the so-called second measurement problem, i.e., the inability to explain how an experimental result is related to a property possessed by the measured system before the measurement took place, is only a pseudo-problem. As a result, we reject the claim, defended in [2], that the capacity of the Consistent Histories formalism to solve it should count as an advantage over other interpretations.