Incoherent? No, Just Decoherent: How Quantum Many Worlds Emerge

TL;DR

This paper clarifies how the quantum multiverse emerges through decoherence within the Everett interpretation, addressing philosophical critiques and providing a clearer ontological account of quantum many worlds.

Contribution

It offers a new, clearer characterization of multiverse emergence using a recent account of ontological emergence, specifically focusing on decoherence as the mechanism.

Findings

Decoherence is identified as the key mechanism for multiverse emergence.

The paper provides rebuttals to philosophical critiques of the Everett interpretation.

It enhances metaphysical clarity regarding the ontology of quantum many worlds.

Abstract

The modern Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics describes an emergent multiverse. The goal of this paper is to provide a perspicuous characterisation of how the multiverse emerges making use of a recent account of (weak) ontological emergence. This will be cashed out with a case study that identifies decoherence as the mechanism for emergence. The greater metaphysical clarity enables the rebuttal of critiques due to Baker (2007) and Dawid and Th\'ebault (2015) that cast the emergent multiverse ontology as incoherent; responses are also offered to challenges to the Everettian approach from Maudlin (2010) and Monton (2013).