The Quantum State Function, Platonic Forms, and the Ethereal Substance: Reflections on the Potential of Philosophy to Contribute to the Harmony of Science and Religion

Vahid Ranjbar

doi:10.31581/jbs-32.1-2.501(2022)

The Weight of Light - artwork by Sky Glabush

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Ranjbar, V. « The Quantum State Function, Platonic Forms, and the Ethereal Substance: Reflections on the Potential of Philosophy to Contribute to the Harmony of Science and Religion ». La Revue Des Études Bahá’íes, vol. 32, nᵒ 1-2, janvier 2023, p. 7-40, doi:10.31581/jbs-32.1-2.501(2022).

Résumé

Werner Heisenberg, l’un des fondateurs de la mécanique quantique, a soutenu que la fonction d’état quantique des particules élémentaires devait être comprise comme appartenant au domaine des formes idéalisées de Platon. Dans cet article, l’auteur suggère que ce lien entre deux concepts
d’importance fondamentale dans notre compréhension de la réalité, issus respectivement de la science et de la philosophie, peut être plausiblement corrélé à des concepts du système de connaissances de la religion, tel que décrit dans les Écrits bahá’ís. L’auteur soutient ici que la substance éthérée (maddiy-i-athiriyyih) décrite par ‘Abdu’l-Bahá et à laquelle Bahá’u’lláh fait allusion relève également du domaine des formes idéalisées de Platon. De plus, la description de la substance éthérée dans les Écrits bahá’ís concorde avec la compréhension moderne d’un champ quantique, luimême dérivé du concept de fonction d’état quantique. L’auteur examine également les implications de parallèles apparents établis dans les Écrits bahá’ís entre la substance éthérée et l’esprit humain, et conclut l’article par des réfl exions sur la relation possible entre la conscience et la mécanique quantique.

https://doi.org/10.31581/jbs-32.1-2.501(2022)

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The Quantum State Function, Platonic Forms, and the Ethereal Substance: Reflections on the Potential of Philosophy to Contribute to the Harmony of Science and Religion

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