6. Uncertainty and Idealism¶
Core Argument¶
The development of quantum mechanics by Einstein, Schrödinger, Heisenberg and others in the early twentieth century posed profound challenges to classical Newtonian physics, introducing concepts such as phase-space, operators, and intrinsic probability. Quantum particles exist as superpositions of actual and virtual states—a relationship that dialectical materialism recognises as genuinely dialectical. However, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, which demonstrates that both the position and momentum of a particle cannot be determined simultaneously with accuracy, was elevated by Heisenberg and the Copenhagen school into a universal principle of indeterminacy. They argued that causality does not exist at the atomic level and that matter is indeterminate by nature. This represents a philosophical position of subjective idealism, not a necessary conclusion from the physics itself. It asserts that reality only becomes real through observation, thereby denying the objective existence of the material world independent of consciousness. Schrödinger's cat thought experiment was designed precisely to expose the absurdity of this view.
Dialectical materialism holds that matter is primary, that sensation is a product of matter organised in a particular way, and that the world exists objectively whether observed or not. The Copenhagen interpretation confuses the breakdown of mechanical determinism with the abolition of causality itself, treating necessity and chance as absolute opposites rather than as dialectically related. The text distinguishes between necessity—compulsion, causality, law-governed, predictable—and accident—contingent, unpredictable, without apparent cause—arguing that both exist in experience and science, and that the search for causality is the basis of rational understanding. Causality is shown to be an inherent and essential aspect of things, not merely a convenient description, by demonstrating that properties of objects are defined through causal relationships.
The critique extends to mechanistic determinism, particularly Laplace's claim that complete knowledge of forces and positions would render the universe entirely predictable. Following Engels, this reduces necessity to trivial chance, eliminates genuine scientific inquiry, and amounts to an asylum of ignorance. No system is truly isolated; external and molecular disturbances prevent unlimited precision. Nineteenth-century developments—Darwin's evolution, Boltzmann's statistical thermodynamics—breached Newtonian science, revealing that out of random molecular motion arises regular, lawful behaviour. Bohm argues that matter behaves differently at different levels, each possessing relatively autonomous qualities and laws. The kinetic theory of gases demonstrates this: individual molecular motion is unpredictable, yet macroscopic gas behaviour is perfectly predictable via hydrodynamic equations. This relative autonomy means macroscopic modes maintain stability independently of individual molecules and external disturbances.
Mass random events, such as coin tosses, are unpredictable individually, but with large numbers, precise probabilities become practical certainties. Casinos and insurance companies rely on this. Heisenberg applied existing mathematics of mass-scale random events to subatomic particles, where randomness is overcome by statistical laws. Out of apparent randomness, order and pattern emerge; quantum mechanics makes exact predictions despite indeterminacy regarding individual particles. Hegel explained that necessity expresses itself through chance, an idea now central to innovative science. Marx and Engels argued that historical accidents—including the character of leading individuals—form part of the general course of development and are compensated by other accidents, with economic necessity ultimately asserting itself through accident. Chaos theory reveals that apparently random natural processes are lawful and deterministic, suggesting quantum events may also follow unknown mathematical rules. The Marxist view holds that the material world has no discontinuity or room for metaphysical forces; causality is established through human activity. The butterfly effect is incorrectly formulated: qualitative change requires accumulated quantitative change, so a small accident can only produce dramatic results when conditions for change already exist. Natural selection demonstrates necessity manifesting through chance mutations. Consciousness arose from the accident of bipedalism, but is a necessary product of matter's evolution. Dialectical determinism is not fatalism: people make their own history but must base themselves on conditions created independently of their will. Real freedom is the recognition of necessity; understanding nature's and society's laws allows humans to master them.