Abstract
This chapter is a translation by E. Crull and G. Bacciagaluppi of Grete Hermann’s hitherto unpublished manuscript on ‘Determinism and Quantum Mechanics’ from 1933. In this fascinating manuscript, sent by Hermann to Bohr, Dirac and Heisenberg, and rediscovered by us in the Dirac Archive, Hermann criticises known arguments for the incompatibility of quantum mechanics and determinism, including the theorem in von Neumann’s 1932 book, and sketches what a completion of quantum mechanics might have to look like.
Translated by Elise Crull and Guido Bacciagaluppi. Manuscript originally titled ‘Determinismus und Quantenmechanik’, sent to Dirac with cover letter, and located in the Dirac Archive, document DRAC 3/11, University Libraries, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL. A copy of the Dirac Archive is located in the Churchill Archives, Churchill College, Cambridge, who kindly supplied us with a copy of the manuscript. The original German text of the manuscript as well as of the cover letter will appear in Herrmann (2017).
Translators’ note: where Hermann gives references, these have been completed and put in the References section.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Original emphases omitted by Hermann (eds.).
- 2.
The German term ‘unbestimmt’ can arguably be translated both as ‘undetermined’ (that which has not been determined but has a value) and ‘indeterminate’ (that which does not have a determinate value in the first place). Hermann clearly treats the German terms ‘unbe-stimmt’ and ‘Unbestimmtheit’ as (misleadingly) suggesting the first reading. We have therefore translated them here, respectively, as ‘undetermined’ and ‘uncertainty’ (the standard English term and not as unwieldy as ‘undeterminedness’) (eds.).
- 3.
References
Born M (1929) Über den Sinn der physikalischen Theorien. Die Naturwissenschaften 17(7):109–118
Heisenberg W (1930) Die physikalischen Prinzipien der Quantentheorie. S. Hirzel, Leipzig
Herrmann K (ed) (2017) Grete Henry-Hermann: Philosophie–Mathematik–Quantenmechanik. Springer, Berlin
von Laue M (1932) Zu den Erörterungen über Kausalität. Die Naturwissenschaften 20(51):915–916
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hermann, G. (2016). Determinism and Quantum Mechanics. In: Crull, E., Bacciagaluppi, G. (eds) Grete Hermann - Between Physics and Philosophy. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, vol 42. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-0970-3_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-0970-3_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-024-0968-0
Online ISBN: 978-94-024-0970-3
eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)