Counting Marbles with 'Accessible' Mass Density: A Reply to Bassi and Ghirardi

Abstract

In a previous article (cf. quant-ph/9905065) we argued that, while Lewis is correct that the enumeration principle fails in dynamical wavepacket reduction theories, one need not following Lewis in rejecting these theories. Because the dynamical reduction process itself prevents the failure of enumeration from ever becoming manifest, and because one can treat the semantics for dynamical reduction theories as not adding anything of ontological import to them, it is reasonable to accept these theories notwithstanding Lewis's counting anomaly. In their response to our paper (cf. quant-ph/9907050), Bassi and Ghirardi reject our criticisms of their own response to Lewis, as well as our argument against Lewis that dynamical reduction precludes failures of enumeration from ever becoming manifest. Our intention here is to demonstrate that Bassi and Ghirardi's responses to us do not succeed.