Resumo

MAUDLIN, Tim. Calculation, bookkeeping, representation, and explanation: a parable. Crítica (Méx., D.F.) [online]. 2021, vol.53, n.159, pp.45-71.  Epub 25-Mar-2022. ISSN 0011-1503.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iifs.18704905e.2021.1293.

Our topic is a basic discussion of what it is to regard a bit of mathematics as referring to something physical, and the different options one has for explaining -and hence rendering non-miraculous- the empirical success of a mathematical formalism. In order to strip away as much extraneous distraction as possible, we will leave the particular case of the wavefunction in quantum theory aside and tell a simpler tale. A fairy tale, in fact. The aim is to foreground some possible relations between a mathematical formalism and the physical system it is used to represent.

Palavras-chave : wavefunction; ontology; mathematics; quantum; theory.