Is the Interpretation Problem of Quantum Mechanics a Failure of the Theory or of the Question?

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Authors: Sungsil Chung
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Abstract

This work re-examines the long-standing interpretation problems of quantum mechanics—measurement, collapse, probability, irreversibility, the observer, and entanglement—not by proposing a new physical theory, but by relocating the structure of the questionsthat have framed these problems. The paper argues that many interpretational tensions arise not from the formalism itself,but from how concepts such as measurement, state, time, and probability have beenpositioned within the explanatory structure. Measurement is treated not as a privilegedphysical event, but as a structural condition associated with record formation.Collapse is interpreted as the unavoidable fixation of perspective once such records exist,rather than as a dynamical process added to the theory. Time is relocated from a global background parameter to a local phenomenon that appearsonly while interactions remain unresolved. Irreversibility is accordingly understoodnot as a fundamental temporal direction, but as the closure of a perspective.Probability is reinterpreted not as future uncertainty or intrinsic randomness,but as a structural summary of how multiple interactions close in the present. The observer is not treated as an external subject or agent, but as a boundary positionat which correlations between system and environment become fixed.Entanglement is understood not as nonlocal influence, but as the manifestation ofan indivisible whole structure that cannot be decomposed into independent parts. This work does not modify the mathematical formalism or predictive success of quantum mechanics.Instead, it constrains the interpretational space by showing how different questionsabout the same formal results generate persistent disagreement.The contribution is therefore conceptual rather than predictive,and is intended as a foundation for further discussion in quantum foundationsand phase-based theoretical frameworks.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Quantum Mechanics and Applications Philosophy and History of Science Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories

Publication details

Journal / source
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Publication date
31 January 2026