Lecture by David Wallace
Do We Live in a Multiverse?
Debate
The physicist and philosopher David Wallace, who is internationally renowned for his multiverse interpretation, explains what is strange about quantum physics and how we can understand it, while also defending the apparently unbelievable idea of the existence of many worlds.
Quantum mechanics—an account of the microscopic world—is one of the most successful scientific theories of all time, but also the most mysterious. Hence, almost a century since it was first formulated, there is still no agreement among physicists about the image of the world it gives us. What is strange about quantum physics? How can we understand it? David Wallace is famous for his many-worlds interpretation, according to which every time a quantum measurement is made, the universe divides into different copies. This theory is, for Wallace, the best (and also the most conservative) way of understanding quantum phenomena.
This lecture is one of the sessions of the sessions de la XIV International Ontology Congress, “Natural Determinism and Free Will” which, sponsored by UNESCO, is to be held in San Sebastian, Barcelona, and A Coruña from 28 September to 14 October.
The lecture will be presented and moderated by Albert Solé, Serra Húnter lecturer in the Philosophy Department at the University of Barcelona.
Participants: David Wallace, Albert Solé
Related contents
David Wallace
Do We Live in a Multiverse?
The physicist and philosopher David Wallace explains how to understand quantum physics, and his many-worlds interpretation, according to which every time a quantum measurement is made, the universe divides into different copies.
