Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1161074 | Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics | 2008 | 27 Pages |
The curious correlations between distant events in quantum phenomena suggest the existence of non-local influences. Indeed, as John Bell demonstrated in his celebrated theorem, granted some plausible premises any quantum theory will predict the existence of such non-local influences. One of the theorem's premises is that the probability distribution of states that systems may assume is independent of the measurements that they undergo at a later time. Retro-causal interpretations of quantum mechanics postulate backward influences from measurement events to the state of systems at an earlier time, and accordingly violate this premise. We argue that retro-causal interpretations predict the existence of closed causal loops, which pose challenges for the predictive and explanatory power of these interpretations.