Values and the Quantum Conception of Man

Abstract

Classical mechanics is based upon a mechanical picture of nature that is fundamentally incorrect. It has been replaced at the basic level by a radically different theory: quantum mechanics. This change entails an enormous shift in our basic conception of nature, one that can profoundly alter the scientific image of man himself. Self-image is the foundation of values, and the replacement of the mechanistic self-image derived from classical mechanics by one concordant with quantum mechanics may provide the foundation of a moral order better suited to our times, a self-image that endows human life with meaning, responsibility, and a deeper linkage to nature as a whole.Comment: 10 pages, latexed, math_macros.tex, full postscript available from http://theor1.lbl.gov/www/theorygroup/papers/37315.p