The entangled roots of objective knowledge
pp. 359-374
in: Michel Bitbol, Pierre Kerszberg, Jean Petitot (eds), Constituting objectivity, Berlin, Springer, 2009Abstract
If no model based on locally interacting objects fits quantum phenomena, how can knowledge grounded in the quantum theory be objective? According to a common view, the conditions which ensure the reproducibility of experiments and the predictability of results are fulfilled in the quantum world owing to the "appearance" of macroscopic objects through decoherence. Based on the analysis of some recent experiments on quantum entanglement, I will point out the circularity of this argument. More generally, I will suggest that the objective features of scientific knowledge do not need to reflect the structure of an "external world", and that they can be understood as the outgrowth of a systematic endeavour to organize experience in a way which makes prediction possible.