A Heptalemma for Quantum Mechanics

TL;DR

The paper introduces a 'heptalemma', a seven-part no-go theorem showing certain theses about reality are incompatible with quantum mechanics, leading to a new way to classify interpretations and non-classical domains.

Contribution

It presents a novel seven-pronged no-go result for quantum mechanics, providing a diagnostic tool for understanding classicality and interpretation choices.

Findings

Seven theses are jointly inconsistent with quantum predictions.

Any six of these theses are jointly consistent.

The heptalemma offers a new taxonomy of quantum interpretations.

Abstract

We present a seven-pronged no-go result for quantum mechanics: a "heptalemma". It shows that seven initially plausible theses about physical reality are jointly inconsistent with the predictions of quantum mechanics, while any six are jointly consistent. We must then decide which theses to retain and which to give up. Since different interpretations of quantum mechanics entail different responses to the heptalemma, we get a novel taxonomy of such interpretations. Beyond the application to quantum mechanics, the heptalemma offers a general diagnostic criterion for determining whether a given scientific domain should count as classical or not, and if not, how it departs from classicality.