Against the ‘Nightmare of a Mechanically Determined Universe’: Why Bohm was Never a Bohmian

9 Dec 2025, 18:30
20m

Speaker

Flavio Del Santo

Description

David Bohm has put forward the first deterministic interpretation of quantum physics, and for this he seems to be regarded as a champion of determinism by physicists (both his contemporaries and the supporters of his interpretation, the so-called "Bohmians") as well as by historians of physics. The standard narrative is that he underwent a "conversion" from being a supporter of Bohr to being a staunch determinist, due to his interaction with Einstein and his commitment to Marxism. Here we show that Bohm actually upheld with continuity throughout his career some philosophical tenets that included a strong rejection of mechanistic determinism. As such, we conclude that Bohm was never a Bohmian and that his philosophical views have been largely misinterpreted.

Author

Flavio Del Santo

Presentation materials

There are no materials yet.