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"quantum theory / relativity / Heisenberg == positivism (If I don't see it (e.g. electron orbitals) it doesn't exist) (* e.g. complementarity)"

Not the parent either, but consider this:

My understanding of the standard model of quantum mechanics is that the fundamental particles cannot be observed in any other way than as statistical behaviors. Therefore, by positivism, it would be an error to try to describe their behavior in terms of a more fundamental model, or as a metaphor, or etc. The mathematics is all you get. There may be two equivalent theories, but if one goes on to make claims that cannot be observed, it is invalid.

In terms of relativity, you it would be an error to make any statements about what is going on outside your light cone. It's not that you don't know, it's that you cannot know and therefore any statements you make are meaningless.

It's not the case that if you know the position, then you cannot know the momentum of a particle. Instead, if you know the position, then the particle does not have a well defined momentum. Making claims about the momentum beyond the limit of your position/momentum knowledge is like asking "Is a unicorn blue?" The question is meaningless.




I see what you're saying, even if I would argue the details. But the important point is that there's no way to get from positivism to there:

The incompatibility of momentum and position, and that of energy and instant, arises from each being the Fourier transform of the other. It is after that that one can make a link to positivism.

In relativity, the fact that what happens beyond an event horizon can't influence my knowledge in any way is a consequence of the geometrical properties of spacetime. It is again a consequence of the mathematical theory, which one can link to positivism after the fact.

One shouldn't be fooled, by looking at how many branches of science started as philosophy, into then taking these modern spurious links and believing relativity or quantum mechanics are based on positivism.




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