Did Quantum Physics Lead to Postmodernism?

Benjamin F. Carlson 168 Views May 27, 2010

Few concepts of quantum physics have taken hold in the popular imagination, but one of them is this: perception matters. According to a widespread interpretation of a 1935 thought experiment, the act of observing something actually affects what you see. (This is obviously a simplification. For a far more thorough explanation, read up on the debate surrounding Schroedinger's Cat.) This idea is similar to a central concept of postmodernism--that "objectivity" is deceptive, and truth is often a matter of perception. Are the ideas connected?

Appropriately enough, it depends whom you ask. ArtsJournal asked the tantalizing, long-debated question after reading this passage from a Salon review:

Much of the debate between Einstein and Bohr revolved around Einstein's intuitive rejection of the implication of the Copenhagen interpretation - which is that objective reality, independent of any observer, doesn't really exist. Bohr, by contrast (and sounding a lot like Wittgenstein), insisted that physics isn't concerned with what is but solely with what we can say about it.

Is quantum physics in fact "responsible for postmodernism?"

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Topics: Physics

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