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Truth versus testability in Quantum Logic

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Abstract

We forward an epistemological perspective regarding non-classical logics which restores the universality of logic in accordance with the thesis of “global pluralism”. In this perspective every non-classical “truth-theory” is actually a theory of some metalinguistic concept which does not coincide with the concept of truth (described by Tarski's truth theory). We intend to apply this point of view to Quantum Logic (QL) in order to prove that its structure properties derive from properties of the metalinguistic concept of testability in Quantum Physics. To this end we construct a classical language L cand endow it with a classical effective interpretation which is partially inspired by the Ludwig approach to the foundations of Quantum Mechanics. Then we select two subsets of formulas in L cwhich can be considered testable because of their interpretation and we show that these subsets have the structure properties of Quantum Logics because of Quantum Mechanical axioms, as desired. Finally we comment on some relevant consequences of our approach (in particular, the fact that no non-classical logic is strictly needed in Quantum Physics).

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Garola, C. Truth versus testability in Quantum Logic. Erkenntnis 37, 197–222 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00209322

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00209322

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