Abstract

We illustrate the application of the conceptual analysis (CA) method outlined in Part I by the example of quantum mechanics. In the present part the Hilbert space structure of conventional quantum mechanics is deduced as a consequence of postulates specifying further idealized concepts. A critical discussion of the idealizations of quantum mechanics is proposed. Quantum mechanics is characterized as a “statistically complete” theory and a simple and elegant formal recipe for the construction of the fundamental mathematical apparatus of quantum mechanics is formulated. Our analysis may also lead to a criticism of quantum mechanics as a “strongly idealized” theory. A critical analysis of the fundamental structure of quantum mechanics seems an indispensable and natural starting point for the construction of new theories. A major technical problem in a more general application of the CA method is the lack of mathematical representation theorems for more general algebraic structures