The Schr\"{o}dinger Cat: Physics, Myth, and Philosophy

TL;DR

This paper explores the Schrödinger cat metaphor's role in debates about quantum theory's interpretation, measurement, and the quantum-classical boundary, highlighting its philosophical and scientific significance.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of the Schrödinger cat metaphor's impact on understanding quantum mechanics and its foundational debates.

Findings

The metaphor influences interpretations of quantum measurement.

It highlights the ontological questions of the quantum wavefunction.

It underscores the boundary between quantum and classical worlds.

Abstract

The most discussed of ``live'' metaphors in physical sciences is that of the Schr\"odinger cat. Introduced in the early, but mature days of the new quantum theory, in 1935, the parable of the cat has provoked and enlivened debates on the meaning of the quantum theory, on the ontology of the quantum wavefunction, on the puzzle of the collapse of the wavefunction, on the meaning of quantum measurement, and on the boundary between the quantum world and the classical world. In this article, I will discuss these issues of the quantum theory focussing on various aspects of the metaphor of the Schr\"odinger cat.