Modelos causais e fenômenos quânticos

Abstract

In this doctoral thesis, starting from an analysis of Bertrand Russell's famous critique of the notion of causality, I argue for the outline of a causal model applicable to the indeterministic domain of quantum physics. To support this model, I propose a generalization of Hans Reichenbach's Principle of Common Cause (PCC) and a reformulation of his Mark Transmission Criterion (CTM), along with a reformulation of Wesley Salmon's Interactive Causal Fork (ICF) and his theory of causal processes. Reichenbach's Conjunctive Causal Fork (CCF) will be maintained to explain classical phenomena. The difference between the two kinds of causal fork will be considered one of the keys to understanding the distinction between probability and causality in classical and quantum physics. I also provide an introduction to classical statistical and classical causal modeling and argue for the importance of a more precise definition of the concept of determinism, as well as its non-equivalence with the notion of causality.