[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-150019-en":3,"doc-seo-150019-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},150019,4398048949847,"Eliana","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/400002536579ef2da7f?_k=1778318612642679267",8,"Research & Report","Copenhagen Interpretation Delenda Est? - Review","A review essay by Christopher A. Fuchs examines Adam Becker’s book on the Copenhagen interpretation, arguing that the book’s central targets—especially claims attributed to Niels Bohr—are mishandled or drawn from misleading secondary sources. The review highlights a pattern of rhetorical “bait and switch,” including weak sourcing, selective quotation, and an overextended critique of the supposed link between the Copenhagen interpretation and positivism. It contrasts Becker’s framing with statements from Copenhagen contributors and related philosophical discussions.","Copenhagen Interpretation Delenda Est?  \narXiv : 1809 .05147v2 [ quant-ph] 11 Nov 2018  \nReview: What is Real? The Un􀀌nished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics by Adam Becker, (Basic Books, New York, 2018) .  \nChristopher A. Fuchs  \nDepartment of Physics, University of Massachusetts Boston  \n100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston MA 02125, USA  \nand  \nStellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS)  \nWallenberg Research Centre, Marais Street, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa  \nThis is a slightly extended version of a review to appear in American Journal of Physics.  \nThe key addition is the reference list.  \n“If you strike at a king, you must kill him,” Ralph Waldo Emerson once advised a famous law student. In this vividly written 􀀌rst book by Adam Becker, the overt intention is to strike at a king, Niels Bohr, key architect of the so-called Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. Becker does not kill him. This is not because of the invincibility of Bohr, but a weakness of the author: So taken with his intent for destruction, Becker neglected to do much homework on the subject. Advance praise on the back cover declares “In this immensely well-researched book. . . ,” but anyone who has seriously studied Bohr, Heisenberg, Pauli, von Weizs¨acker, Rosenfeld, and other contributors to what Heisenberg more aptly named “the Copenhagen spirit” [1] (for there are many Copenhagen interpretations ) will quickly detect that this is simply not true. The bibliography appears rich with sources (206 items), but on closer examination one 􀀌nds just 􀀌ve collections of writings from any of the Copenhageners, and even these were not particularly used in the text—the only substantial quotes of Bohr come from two essays and an interview. But what about material from the 36 other essays in Bohr’s collected philosophical papers [2 , 3 , 4 , 5], or the extensive writings of L􀀓eon Rosenfeld [6] and C. F. von Weizs¨acker [7], or any of the analyses of Henry Folse [8], Arkady Plotnitsky [9], John Honner [10], and others [11 , 12] explaining the ways in which Bohr was a realist about quantum objects? For an author who cries out “What the hell is going on here?” over what the Copenhagen interpretation actually says about reality, one might wonder whether he ever really wanted to know.  \nWhat is served instead of a scholarly “know thine enemy” is an extended takedown of a single quote, “There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract quantum physical description,”presented as if it were from Bohr himself. Only if one were to look into the book’s endnotes and follow its trail to the actual sources, would one learn that Becker knows better: The quote is not from Bohr himself, but from Aage Petersen after Bohr’s death, recollecting how he remembered Bohr speaking [13 , 14] . This rhetorical technique is part of a larger pattern of bait in the text and switch in the notes. Some instances are insubstantial for a reader who seeks entertainment only. An example: After telling a riveting tale of a speaker’s bad treatment upon reporting David Bohm’s hidden variable theory, one 􀀌nds in the endnotes, “This story must, at best, be taken with a sizable grain of salt.” On the other hand, the example of the Petersen quote is more insidious, as much of the theme of the book is built on it.  \n“There is no quantum world”—what might Bohr or Petersen have meant by this? Without much context for how the words were meant to be used, one is essentially free to fantasize. And that the author certainly does. The Bohr and other Copenhageners Becker constructs tip close to believing in no reality at all. They are solipsists . . . or positivists . . . or idealists . . . or operationalists . . . or, well it doesn’t really matter, as Becker doesn’t much bother to recognize distinctions between these positions anyway. (He even calls the noted pragmatist philosopher Charles Morris [15] a positivist.) More often than not though, his explicit target is a supposed connection betw","cbCaich0oooyZbdb","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaich0oooyZbdb","pdf",93799,1,6,"English","en",105,"# Copenhagen Interpretation Delenda Est?\n## Review overview and key critique\n## Misattributed quotes and sourcing in endnotes\n## Targeting positivism and comparison with Copenhagen contributors","[{\"question\":\"What is the main argument of the review by Christopher A. Fuchs?\",\"answer\":\"The review argues that Adam Becker’s treatment of the Copenhagen interpretation relies on weak homework and misleading attribution, particularly when key quotations are presented as if they come from Niels Bohr.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the review characterize Becker’s use of sources and quotations?\",\"answer\":\"It points out that although the bibliography seems rich, the text uses very few substantial excerpts, and important material is traced through endnotes to other authors rather than Bohr himself.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the review say about Becker’s claim linking Copenhagen interpretation to positivism?\",\"answer\":\"The review challenges this connection by citing statements from Copenhagen figures indicating the interpretation is not positivistic, and by questioning Becker’s broader narrative about the overthrow of logical positivism.\"}]","Copenhagen Interpretation Delenda Est? - Review | PDF",1787811869,15,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":28},"copenhagen-interpretation-delenda-est-review","",{"@graph":36,"@context":85},[37,54,68],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,51],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":53},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/copenhagen-interpretation-delenda-est-review/150019/",4,{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":55,"author":56,"headline":13,"publisher":58,"fileFormat":61,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":62,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":61,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":57},"Person",{"url":41,"name":59,"@type":60},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-27",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"What is the main argument of the review by Christopher A. Fuchs?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"The review argues that Adam Becker’s treatment of the Copenhagen interpretation relies on weak homework and misleading attribution, particularly when key quotations are presented as if they come from Niels Bohr.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"How does the review characterize Becker’s use of sources and quotations?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"It points out that although the bibliography seems rich, the text uses very few substantial excerpts, and important material is traced through endnotes to other authors rather than Bohr himself.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"What does the review say about Becker’s claim linking Copenhagen interpretation to positivism?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"The review challenges this connection by citing statements from Copenhagen figures indicating the interpretation is not positivistic, and by questioning Becker’s broader narrative about the overthrow of logical positivism.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":52,"og:type":87,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":59,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":89,"canonical":52},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":92},[93,97,101,105,110,114,119,122,127,130,134],{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":94,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":47,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":53,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},30,"research-report",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":129},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":133},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":135,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":137},19,"General","general"]