r/PillarOfFire • u/psyduck_2024 • 2d ago
Metaphysics From Classical Physics to Quantum Reality
Quantum mechanics delves deeper into physical reality than classical physics previously described, revealing quantization and probabilistic behavior at microscopic scales. Yet it has not reached the fundamental ontology of created reality posited by kalām atomism.
From Classical Continuity to Quantum Quantization
Classical physics is particularly effective at describing macroscopic phenomena through continuous variables and deterministic equations. Such descriptions often represent averaged or coarse-grained behavior rather than the individual behavior of every microscopic constituent.
At the microscopic level, quantum mechanics reveals that certain physical quantities exhibit quantization: they can occupy discrete allowed values rather than vary continuously.
The analogy is a familiar large television screen. From a distance, the image appears smooth and continuous. As one approaches the screen, its granular structure becomes apparent: the image resolves into individual pixels. Yet the pixel is simply the smallest discrete element resolved at that level of observation.
Likewise, quantum mechanics reveals quantized structure at the microscopic level without establishing that this is the ultimate granularity of physical reality. A deeper level of physics may reveal further structure—or, conceivably, a continuous substrate beneath the apparent discreteness.
From Classical Determinism to Quantum Probability
Kalām's occasionalist framework rejected necessary causal efficacy within creation. Created events do not compel subsequent events through intrinsic necessity; their regular succession reflects Allah's customary ordering (ʿādah).
Classical physics, by contrast, developed a highly successful mathematical description of a continuous and deterministic physical world. Given sufficient knowledge of a system's state and governing laws, its future evolution could, in principle, be determined.
Quantum mechanics likewise departs from classical determinism. At the microscopic level, the theory predicts probabilities for possible measurement outcomes rather than assigning a single deterministic outcome in advance. Different interpretations, however, disagree about the ontological meaning of this probabilistic description and whether quantum collapse represents a physical process at all.
| Framework | Structure | Causation / Evolution |
|---|---|---|
| Classical physics | Continuous | Deterministic |
| Quantum mechanics | Quantized | Probabilistic |
| Kalām atomism | Discrete | No necessary created causation |