Mon, 06 Dec 2010
Emptiness and Modern Physics
In a nutshell, emptiness means that everything that arises in dependence has no true existence. This is called the middle way, because it says that things exist dependently, contradicting the nihilisic view, but not absolutely, contradicting the eternalistic view. Two kinds of dependent existence are objects composed of parts and relations between objects. An example of the first kind of dependence is a wooden table. A table is constructed of parts, the parts are made of wood, and the wood is composed of different molecules and atoms. At each level there is only nominal existence as a collection of parts. An example of the second kind of dependence is left and right. Objects are to my left or right depending how I stand. If I turn around, what was left becomes right, and vice versa. One feature of quantum mechanics is that the properties of a quantum mechanical system depend on how you measure it. The usual example used in the literature in particle spin. If you measure spin along one axis, it appears upon one axis and if you measure it along another axis it appears along that axis. The spin is dependent on how it is measured, just as left and right depend on how I stand. The phrase used to describe this phenomenon in quantum mechanics is "no hidden variables." There is no spin prior to the act of measurement, the spin is dependent on the act of measuring. Since all non-composite objects in physics are quantum mechanical, all objects are dependent, either composite or existing only in the relation of measuring. So everything is dependent and therefore empty and modern physics supports the view of emptiness.
