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On the Possibility of Quantum Informational Structural Realism
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Abstract
In The Philosophy of Information (2011 book), Luciano Floridi presents an ontological theory of Being qua Being, which he calls "Informational Structural Realism", a theory which applies, he says, to every possible world. He identifies primordial information ("dedomena") as the foundation of any structure in any possible world. The present essay examines Floridi's defense of that theory, as well as his refutation of "Digital Ontology" (which some people might confuse with his own). Then, using Floridi's ontology as a starting point, the present essay adds quantum features to dedomena, yielding an ontological theory for our own universe, Quantum Informational Structural Realism, which provides a metaphysical interpretation of key quantum phenomena, and diminishes the "weirdness" or "spookiness" of quantum mechanics. Key Words: digital ontology, dedomena, structural realism, quantum information, primordial qubit
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Quantum theory can be derived from purely informational principles. Five
elementary axioms-causality, perfect distinguishability, ideal compression,
local distinguishability, and pure conditioning-define a broad class of
theories of information-processing that can be regarded as a standard. One
postulate-purification-singles out quantum theory within this class. The main
structures of quantum theory, such as the representation of mixed states as
convex combinations of perfectly distinguishable pure states, are derived
directly from the principles without using the Hilbert space framework.
Computational and information-theoretic research in philosophy has become increasingly fertile and pervasive, giving rise to a wealth of interesting results. Consequently, a new and vitally important field has emerged, the philosophy of information (PI). This paper introduces PI as the philosophical field concerned with (i) the critical investigation of the conceptual nature and basic principles of information, including its dynamics, utilisation and sciences, and with (ii) the elaboration and application of information-theoretic and computational methodologies to philosophical problems. It is argued that PI is a mature discipline for three reasons: it represents an autonomous field of research; it provides an innovative approach to both traditional and new philosophical topics; and it can stand beside other branches of philosophy, offering a systematic treatment of the conceptual foundations of the world of information and the information society.
Nothing: A Very Short Introduction explores the science and history of the elusive Void: from Aristotle, who insisted that the vacuum was impossible, via the theories of Newton and Einstein, to the very latest discoveries and why they can tell us extraordinary things about the cosmos. This VSI tells the story of how scientists have explored the Void and the discoveries that they have made there. It describes how they discovered that the vacuum is filled with fields and how it may contain hidden dimensions of which we were previously unaware. These new discoveries may provide answers to some of cosmology's most fundamental questions.
An abstract is not available.
Digital Philosophy (DP) is a new way of thinking about how things work. This paper can be viewed as a continuation of the author's work of 1990[3]; it is based on the general concept of replacing normal mathematical models, such as partial differential equations, with Digital Mechanics (DM). DP is based on two concepts: bits, like the binary digits in a computer, correspond to the most microscopic representation of state information; and the temporal evolution of state is a digital informational process similar to what goes on in the circuitry of a computer processor. We are motivated in this endeavor by the remarkable clarification that DP seems able to provide with regard to many of the most fundamental questions about processes we observe in our world.
Quantum mechanics is not just about teeny particles. It applies to things of all sizes: birds, plants, maybe even people
All physical systems register and process information. The laws of physics determine the amount of information that a physical system can register (number of bits) and the number of elementary logic operations that a system can perform (number of ops). The Universe is a physical system. The amount of information that the Universe can register and the number of elementary operations that it can have performed over its history are calculated. The Universe can have performed 10(120) ops on 10(90) bits ( 10(120) bits including gravitational degrees of freedom).
The universe is a computer
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