The central provocation of quantum physics is not merely that the world is small, but that it is fundamentally relational. Rather than uncovering a set of static, "objective" truths, the pioneers of the field realized that phenomena do not exist in isolation. Instead, they are defined by their interactions with the observer and the environment. This shift suggests that reality is a constant flux of contingent circumstances where human participation is not just an observation, but a co-constitution of the object itself.
In his new book, *On the Equality of All Things: Physics and Philosophy*, the theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli argues that these revolutionary ideas did not emerge in a vacuum. Rovelli posits that Niels Bohr, a titan of quantum science, was deeply influenced by his fellow countryman, the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Growing up in Denmark, Bohr was immersed in Kierkegaard’s existentialism—a framework that prioritized individual perspective and the inherent limits of human knowledge over the rigid, all-encompassing rationalism of the Hegelian systems dominant in the 19th century.
This philosophical DNA is visible in the quantum rejection of "complete objectivity." Because human perception is inherently perspectival, there are necessarily blind spots that prevent the creation of a comprehensive, closed system. By moving away from the idea of a predetermined universe, Bohr and his contemporaries opened the door to a reality defined by relationality and emergent possibilities. As Rovelli quips, physicists rarely invent a new way of seeing the world without first finding the intellectual permission to do so within the pages of philosophy.
With reporting from Noema Magazine.
Source · Noema Magazine
