The Second Quantum Revolution and Its Philosophical Meaning

Abstract

The second quantum revolution blurs the distinction between information and matter. “It from (qu)bit or (Qu)bit from it” thus becomes a philosophical issue. According to the physicist Wen Xiaogang in MIT, quantum topological states of matter, formed by long-range entangled qubits, will show all particles, such as light and electrons, are unified by the long-range entanglement of qubits. That is, it from qubit, not bit. Quantum information unifies matter, i.e., quantum information = quantum matter. This represents a new way to view our world. However, the information-theoretical paradigm, which origins from Wheeler’s “it from bit”, can lead to informational immaterialism and instrumentalism. In perspective of the constructive structural realism, there exists a constructive co-dependent structural relationship between quantum information and quantum matter. Both qubit and it are fundamental structural elements for us constructing our understanding of the physical world.

Keywords

• second quantum revolution
• quantum information
• quantum matter
• long-range entanglement
• it from qubit
• constructive structural realism