Possibility and Time in Quantum Mechanics

Abstract

In the discourse of quantum mechanics it is usual to say that non-commuting observables cannot have definite values at the same time, or that they cannot be simultaneously measured. But, what does the term ‘cannot’ mean in this context? Does it stand for impossible? Should Heisenberg’s principle be read in terms of uncertainty or of indeterminacy? On the other hand, whereas the debates about the nature of time in classical and relativistic mechanics have been many and varied, the question about the nature of time in quantum mechanics has not received the same attention, especially when compared to the large amount of literature on interpretive issues. The purpose of this paper is to show that, under a realist interpretation of quantum mechanics, these two matters, possibility and time, are strongly related. The final aim is to argue that, when possibility and actuality are conceived as irreducible modes of being, they are correlated to two different notions of time that can be distinguished in the quantum realm: parameter-time and event-time.