Psychosocial implications of indeterminacy: wave versus particle?

Constrained, Unconstrained and Surprised in a Global Context (Part #3)

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In the language of physics, a comparison could be usefully made between the constrained perspective of the "frog" and that of a particle -- with that of the "turtle" (eagle, butterfly) then to be compared with an unconstrained wave perspective.

For physicists, there is a complementarity between the extreme contrasts of wave and particle, as articulated in terms of the Uncertainty Principle of quantum physics. This is also known as the Principle of Indeterminacy. In that respect, according to the de Broglie hypothesis, every object in the universe is a wave, with the position of the particle then described by a wave function.

Notably given the anticipated impact of quantum computing in practice, consideration has increasingly been given to the relevance of the interpretations of quantum mechanics from a psychological perspective: quantum mind (or quantum consciousness), quantum cognition, and quantum psychology. With respect to the social sciences more generally, of particular relevance are the arguments of Alexander Wendt (Quantum Mind and Social Science: unifying physical and social ontology, 2015; The mind-body problem and social science: motivating a quantum social theory, Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 48, 2018, 2).

Beyond reflections on indeterminacy in philosophy,, it remains quite unclear, as might be imagined, how such a new paradigm will transform psychosocial understanding in the decades to come. An early reflection on the matter is that of Garrison Sposito (Does a generalized Heisenberg principle operate in the social sciences? Inquiry: an interdisciplinary journal of philosophy, 12, 1969, 1-4).

Speculation in that regard include:

• Being Neither a-Waving Nor a-Parting: cognitive implications of wave-particle duality in the light of science and spirituality ( 2013) with its consideration of the following:

  Being a-Waving Being a-Parting Death -- a final parting? Neither a-Waving nor a-Parting

  Transcending a-Waving and a-Parting Correspondence to a-Coming and a-Going? Varieties of neither-nor dynamic Implications of neither-nor enabling Chinese strategic advantage

  
  
• Being a Waveform of Potential as an Experiential Choice: emergent dynamic qualities of identity and integrity (2013) in the light of the following:

Exploring physical waves by playing analogy leapfrog Metaphorical waves with psychosocial implications Social implications of waves Eliciting psychosocial creativity through analogy Psychosocial potential of analogy detection Beyond explanations of whatever sophistication

Waves and consciousness Being a waveform Attraction to curved forms as a vital clue Identification with waves of embodied movement Social initiatives as unrecognized waveforms Animations variously suggestive of "being a waveform"

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