Valia Allori

University of Bergamo
  •  5
    Spontaneous localization theories are a class of quantum theories which solve the so-called measurement problem by non-linearly and stochastically modifying the Schrödinger dynamics. In this paper I briefly explain where these theories are coming from, what their driving ideas and main features are, and how they were historically developed. Also, I discuss their empirical and ontological adequacy, as well as their relativistic extensions and their experimental confirmation.
  •  10
    Who’s Afraid of the Measurement Problem?
    In Angelo Bassi, Sheldon Goldstein, Roderich Tumulka & Nino Zanghì (eds.), Physics and the Nature of Reality: Essays in Memory of Detlef Dürr, Springer. pp. 393-409. 2024.
    Scientific realists usually claim that quantum mechanics can be made compatible with scientific realism by solving the measurement problem, even if there is disagreement about which solution is best. In this paper I argue this is due to having different views about what it means to make quantum theory compatible with scientific realism: ‘relaxed’ realists think it is enough to solve the adequacy problem, ‘modest’ realists believe that there is also a precision problem, while ‘robust’ realists in…Read more
  •  68
    The year 2005 has been named the World Year of Physics in recognition of the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's "Miracle Year," in which he published four landmark papers which had deep and great influence on the last and the current century: quantum theory, general relativity, and statistical mechanics. Despite the enormous importance that Einstein’s discoveries played in these theories, most physicists adopt a version of quantum theory which is incompatible with the idea that motivated Ein…Read more
  •  59
    Wave-functionalism
    Synthese 199 (5-6): 12271-12293. 2021.
    In this paper I present a new perspective for interpreting the wavefunction as a non-material, non-epistemic, non-representational entity. I endorse a functional view according to which the wavefunction is defined by its roles in the theory. I argue that this approach shares some similarities with the nomological account of the wave function as well as with the pragmatist and epistemic approaches to quantum theory, while avoiding the major objections of these alternatives.
  • Do Wave Functions Jump? Perspectives on the Work of GianCarlo Ghirardi (edited book)
    with A. Bassi, D. Dürr, and N. Zanghì
    Springer. 2020.
    This book celebrates the work of Giancarlo Ghiradi.
  •  8
    When discussing quantum ontology, the debate has recently focused on comparing and contrasting wavefunction realism and its rivals. Among them one finds the primitive ontology approach, which is often conflated with the local beables program. In this paper I wish to clarify what I take to be the distinction between the notion of primitive ontology and the one of local beable. I argue that the primitive ontology is the local beable which allows for a dynamical, constructive explanation which pres…Read more
  •  13
    Scientific realists investigate the ontology of the world and explain the observed phenomena by using our best fundamental physical theories. These theories describe the behavior of fundamental objects in terms of their fundamental properties, which determine their behavior. This paper is the natural companion of another paper in which I propose an alternative to this traditional account of metaphysics, according to which fundamental objects have no other fundamental property than the one needed…Read more
  •  17
    The scientific realist wants to read the metaphysical picture of reality through our best fundamental physical theories. The traditional way of doing so is in terms of objects, properties, and laws of nature. For instance, there are families of fundamental particles individuated by their properties of mass and charge, which determine how they move around. One could call this view an object-oriented metaphysics grounded on properties. In this paper, I wish to present an alternative view that one …Read more
  •  7
    Spontaneous localization theory is a quantum theory proposed by GianCarlo Ghirardi, together with Alberto Rimini and Tullio Weber in 1986. However, soon it became clear to Ghirardi that his work was more than just one theory: he actually developed a framework, a family of theories in which the wavefunction jumps, but where the ontology of the theory is underdetermined. After acknowledging that the wavefunction did not provide a satisfactory ontology, he assumed that matter was described by a con…Read more
  •  16
    Contemporary Echoes of the World Soul: Quantum Mechanics and Consciousness
    In James Wilberding (ed.), World Soul: A history, Oxford University Press. pp. 320-342. 2021.
    Quantum mechanics is a groundbreaking theory: not only it is extraordinarily empirically adequate but also it is claimed to having shattered the classical paradigm of understanding the observer-observed distinction as well as the part-whole relation. This, together with other quantum features, has been taken to suggest that quantum theory can help us understand the mind-body relation in a unique way, in particular to solve the hard problem of consciousness along the lines of panpsychism. In this…Read more
  •  16
    Wave-functionalism
    Synthese 199 (199). 2021.
    In this paper I present a new perspective for interpreting the wavefunction as a non-material, nonepistemic, non-representational entity. I endorse a functional view according to which the wavefunction is defined by its roles in the theory. I argue that this approach shares some similarities with the nomological account of the wave function as well as with the pragmatist and epistemic approaches to quantum theory, while avoiding the major objections of these alternatives.
  •  27
    “The Paradox of Deterministic Probabilities”
    Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 1 (DOI: 10.1080/0020174X.2022.20655): 0-00. 2022.
    This paper aims to investigate the so-called paradox of deterministic probabilities: in a deterministic world, all probabilities should be subjective; however, they also seem to play important explanatory and predictive roles which suggest they are objective. The problem is then to understand what these deterministic probabilities are. Recent proposed solutions of this paradox are the Mentaculus vision, the range account of probability, and a version of frequentism based on typicality. All these…Read more
  •  9
    On the Galilean Invariance of the Pilot-Wave Theory
    Foundations of Physics 52 (5): 1-21. 2022.
    Many agree that the pilot-wave theory is to be understood as a first-order theory, in which the law constrains the velocity of the particles. However, while Dürr, Goldstein and Zanghì maintain that the pilot-wave theory is Galilei invariant, Valentini argues that such a symmetry is mathematical but it has no physical significance. Moreover, some wavefunction realists insist that the pilot-wave theory is not Galilei invariant in any sense. It has been maintained by some that this disagreement ori…Read more
  •  72
    This edited collection provides new perspectives on some metaphysical questions arising in quantum mechanics. These questions have been long-standing and are of continued interest to researchers and graduate students working in physics, philosophy of physics and metaphysics. It features contributions from a diverse set of researchers, ranging from senior scholars to junior academics, working in varied fields, from physics to philosophy of physics and metaphysics. The contributors reflect on issu…Read more
  •  313
    The violation of Bell’s inequality has shown that quantum theory and relativity are in tension: reality is nonlocal. Nonetheless, many have argued that GRW-type theories are to be preferred to pilot-wave theories as they are more compatible with relativity: while relativistic pilot-wave theories require a preferred slicing of space-time, foliation-free relativistic GRW-type theories have been proposed. In this paper I discuss various meanings of ‘relativistic invariance,’ and I show how GRW-type…Read more
  •  16
    Tim Maudlin's Philosophy of Physics (review)
    BJPS Review of Books. 2020.
    This is a book review of Tim Maudlin's "Philosophy of Physics Quantum Theory" book.
  •  7
    Shan Gao's Protective Measurement and Quantum Reality (review)
    BJPS Review of Books (00): 0-00. 2017.
    This is a book review of Gao's volume.
  •  29
    Do Wave Functions Jump? Perspectives on the Work of GianCarlo Ghirardi (edited book)
    with Angelo Bassi, Detlef Duerr, and Nino Zanghi
    Springer. 2020.
    Book to honor the work of GianCarlo Ghirardi
  •  46
    A common way of characterizing Boltzmann’s explanation of thermodynamics in term of statistical mechanics is with reference to three ingredients: the dynamics, the past hypothesis, and the statistical postulate. In this paper I focus on the statistical postulate, and I have three aims. First, I wish to argue that regarding the statistical postulate as a probability postulate may be too strong: a postulate about typicality would be enough. Second, I wish to show that there is no need to postulate…Read more
  •  25
    Book review of: "Philosophy of Physics - Quantum Theory" by T. Maudlin (review)
    British Journal for the Philosophy of Science Review of Books 1. 2020.
    This book is an introduction to the foundation of quantum mechanics. As such, this book is perfect: it is the book that my former, physics undergraduate, self would have wanted to read. At the time, like typical physics undergraduates around the globe, I was taught to give up hope of ever understanding what quantum theory claims: at best, the theory is an instrument to predict experimental results. No matter how much we might dislike it, we have to accept it; there is no way out. It was my refus…Read more
  •  26
    The information-theoretic approach to quantum mechanics, proposed by Bub and Pitowsky, is a realist approach to quantum theory which rejects the “two dogmas” of quantum mechanics: in this theory measurement results are not analysed in terms of something more fundamental, and the quantum state does not represent physical entities. Bub and Pitowsky’s approach has been criticized because their rejection of the first dogma relies on their argument that kinematic explanations are more satisfactory th…Read more
  •  84
    Quantum mechanics, time and ontology
    Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 66 (C): 145-154. 2019.
    Against what is commonly accepted in many contexts, it has been recently suggested that both deterministic and indeterministic quantum theories are not time‐reversal invariant, and thus time is handed in a quantum world. In this paper, I analyze these arguments and evaluate possible reactions to them. In the context of deterministic theories, first I show that this conclusion depends on the controversial assumption that the wave‐function is a physically real scalar field in configuration space. …Read more
  •  43
    The book explores several open questions in the philosophy of statistical mechanics. Each chapter is written by a leading expert in the field. Here is a list of some questions that are addressed in the book: 1) Boltzmann showed how the phenomenological gas laws of thermodynamics can be derived from statistical mechanics. Since classical mechanics is a deterministic theory there are no probabilities in it. Since statistical mechanics is based on classical mechanics, all the probabilities statis…Read more
  •  78
    Book review of: "The Road to Maxwell's Demon: Conceptual Foundations of Statistical Mechanics" by M. Hemmo and O. Shenker (review)
    International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 27 (4): 453-456. 2013.
    Book review of Meir Hemmo and Orly Shenker's book "The Road to Maxwell's Demon: Conceptual Foundations of Statistical Mechanics.".
  •  307
    From No-signaling to Spontaneous Localization Theories
    International Journal of Quantum Foundations 5 1-10. 2019.
    GianCarlo Ghirardi passed away on June 1st, 201. He would have turned 83 on October 28, 2018. He was without any doubt one of the most prominent theoretical physicists working on the foundation and the philosophy of quantum mechanics. In this paper I review some of his achievements and underline how his research influenced the philosophy of physics community.
  •  446
    Scientific realism is the view that our best scientific theories can be regarded as (approximately) true. This is connected with the view that science, physics in particular, and metaphysics could (and should) inform one another: on the one hand, science tells us what the world is like, and on the other hand, metaphysical principles allow us to select between the various possible theories which are underdetermined by the data. Nonetheless, quantum mechanics has always been regarded as, at best, …Read more
  •  480
    In this paper, I argue that Conway and Kochen’s Free Will Theorem (1,2) to the conclusion that quantum mechanics and relativity entail freedom for the particles, does not change the situation in favor of a libertarian position as they would like. In fact, the theorem more or less implicitly assumes that people are free, and thus it begs the question. Moreover, it does not prove neither that if people are free, so are particles, nor that the property people possess when they are said to be free i…Read more
  •  57
    Peter J. Lewis. Quantum Ontology: A Guide to the Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics (review)
    Philosophy of Science 85 (4): 735-738. 2018.
    This is a review of Peter J. Lewis' book "Quantum Ontology: A Guide to the Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics."
  •  187
    Many Worlds and Schrodinger's First Quantum Theory
    with Sheldon Goldstein, Roderich Tumulka, and Nino Zanghì
    British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 62 (1): 1-27. 2011.
    Schrödinger’s first proposal for the interpretation of quantum mechanics was based on a postulate relating the wave function on configuration space to charge density in physical space. Schrödinger apparently later thought that his proposal was empirically wrong. We argue here that this is not the case, at least for a very similar proposal with charge density replaced by mass density. We argue that when analyzed carefully, this theory is seen to be an empirically adequate many-worlds theory and n…Read more