A proposal for a metaphysics of self-subsisting structures. II. Quantum physics

TL;DR

This paper extends the metaphysics of self-subsisting structures into quantum physics, proposing a relational model for quantum systems and analyzing the implications for the metaphysics of the wave function.

Contribution

It introduces a Pure Shape Dynamics model for quantum systems and discusses a revised metaphysics of the quantum world based on self-subsisting structures.

Findings

Relational quantum model aligns with self-subsisting structures

Wave function's metaphysical status is reinterpreted

Requires revision of world-building relations in quantum metaphysics

Abstract

The paper presents an extension of the metaphysics of self-subsisting structures set out in a companion paper to the realm of non-relativistic quantum physics. The discussion is centered around a Pure Shape Dynamics model representing a relational implementation of a de Broglie-Bohm $N$-body system. An interpretation of this model in terms of self-subsisting structures is proposed and assessed against the background of the debate on the metaphysics of quantum physics, with a particular emphasis on the nature of the wave function. The analysis shows that elaborating an appropriate Leibnizian/Machian metaphysics of the quantum world requires a substantial revision of the notion of world-building relation.