2013/12/01 by Reza Maleeh, Parisa Amani · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Arts and Humanities · #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Philosophy and History of Science #Philosophy, Science, and History
paper · doi:10.1080/02698595.2013.868182
openalex publication_date 2013/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
In this article, we argue that although Bohr's version of the Copenhagen interpretation is in line with several key elements of logical positivism, pragmatism is the closest approximation to a classification of the Copenhagen interpretation, whether or not pragmatists directly influenced the key figures of the interpretation. Pragmatism already encompasses important elements of operationalism and logical positivism, especially the liberalized Carnapian reading of logical positivism. We suggest that some elements of the Copenhagen interpretation, which are in line with logical positivism, are also supported by pragmatism. Some of these elements are empirical realism, fallibilism, holism, and instrumentalism. However, pragmatism goes beyond logical positivism in espousing some other key elements of the Copenhagen interpretation, though imperfectly, such as the correspondence principle, complementarity, and indeterminism.