Does quantum theory imply mysticism?
Comments: Contrary to some of the other reviews, I think this is a pretty great book. Let me point out that my own background is astrophysics (undergrad) and mathematics (grad). Stenger does a creditable job of laying out the major philosophical issues of quantum theory. He has included some sidebars for the more mathematically sophisticated. My own reading left me feeling that Stenger’s aim is primarily to urge readers to approach any extrapolation from quantum facts to quantum ontologies with a great deal of skepticism. Many people have construed issues of measurement to mean that ‘mind’ collapses wave functions. Stenger points out that ‘mind’ is not easily defined, is likely an emergent property of base matter, and suggests we stop reverting to Cartesian dualism e time things get confused. He discusses De Broglie and Bohm’s guiding field, and points out that regardless of its correctness, it supplies a viable alternative ontology, so clearly the mystical approach is not a foregone c
