Berkelian Idealism Regarding Properties in Orthodox Quantum Mechanics, and Implications for Quantum Gravity

Abstract

Referring to the 18th century idealism of George Berkeley in which an object exists if and only if it is observed, this note shows that orthodox quantum mechanics (OQM) entails a Berkelian idealism regarding properties (BIRP): a quantum `has' a property X with quantitative value x if and only if the property X has just been measured with outcome x. It is then impossible to recontextualize GR's principle of curvature in any quantum framework that implies this BIRP, for a quantum cannot curve space-time if it doesn't have a definite energy - which is supposed to be the cause of curvature - in absence of observation to begin with. Concluding, it is ruled out that a quantum theory of gravity, in which GR's principle of curvature is built in as a fundamental physical principle, can be developed in any framework implying this BIRP.