Tim Maudlin: Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics

This is follow up of the previous post on formalistic vs realistic physics.

Tim Maudlin is a realist philosopher of quantum physics in the following sense declared in the Introduction to Philosophy of Physics: Quantum Theory (interview here):

• A physical theory should clearly and forthrightly address two fundamental questions: what there is, and what it does. 
• The answer to the first question is provided by the ontology of the theory, and the answer to the second by its dynamics. 
• The ontology should have a sharp mathematical description, and the dynamics should be implemented by precise equations describing how the ontology will, or might, evolve.

Maudlin then proceeds to describe three theories (Collapse, Many-Worlds and Pilot Wave theories) which meet these demands, starting with a declaration that the Copenhagen Interpretation does not.

Maudlin does not like the term "realist", "realistic" or the opposite, claiming that "physical theories" are neither "realist" or the opposite, but the above declaration I think qualifies him to be a realist like Schrödinger rather than formalist like Born-Heisenberg. 

The question is then if the three above theories really satisfy the demands given. Already the fact that there is more than one theory raises questions, if there is only one reality. If not, then Many-Worlds comes in, but that ontology is very shaky. Collapse Theory and Pilot Wave Theory concern the One-World we are part of and build on a multi-dimensional Schrödinger Equation SE. The trouble with SE is that multi-dimensionality is way beyond the three dimensions of the observable world and so has been given no physical meaning at all,  or as last straw a statistical meaning as somehow describing different possibilities rather than realities. To replace what is with a wide range of possibilities and to argue that realism is not destroyed, requires a bit of good work and it is not clear that Maudlin succeeds. Note that he prepares for success by offering might evolve as alternative to will evolve, thus opening to statistics and the Copenhagen Interpretation he does not like...

In any case, the multi-dimensionality of SE in its standard form as the basis for both Collapse and Pilot Wave theories is the root trouble when seeking a description of what is and what it does. RealQM offers an alternative in 3d meeting these descriptions. 

Let me ask Maudlin to take a look at RealQM to see if his demands are satisfied in this case keeping the strict will evolve and not just might evolve.

Added: 

It seems that Maudlin answers that the Pilot Wave theory fulfills his demands of reality because the particles carried by the Pilot Wave are real, and then the multi-d Pilot Wave as solution to Schrödinger's equation also must be real. Something telling/carrying real particles what to do that in some real way and so must itself be real in some sense. The problem is that the what is and what it does of that Pilot Wave is hidden or maybe not there at all...

Quantum Paradoxes and Physical Reality: Harvey Brown

Harvey Brown is a philosopher of physics with a realist approach developed in his book Quantum Paradoxes and Physical Reality starting with the following basic questions of modern physics:

1. Do the basic entities of atomic physics, such as electrons, photons, and so on, actually exist independently of the observations performed by physicists?
2. If the answer to the previous question is positive, is it possible to comprehend the structure of atomic objects and the evolution of atomic processes, in the sense of forming spacetime images somehow in correspondence with their reality?
3. Should one formulate physical laws in such a way that one or several causes are given for all observed effects?

Harvey maps positive answers to opponents of quantum mechanics:

• Ehrenfest, Planck, Einstein, Schrödinger and de Broglie, 

and negative to defenders of quantum mechanics: 

• Sommerfeld, Born, Bohr, Pauli, Heisenberg, Jordan, and Dirac. 

Basically a split between realists and formalists.

The situation today is that the formalist attitude is completely dominating, and that a realist attitude is shown only by a few realist philosophers of physics such as Tim Maudlin and Harvey Brown himself. 

To the realist camp I can add RealQM with positive answers to 1-3. It may be that positive realist answers tmay help progress better than negative formalist.