Basic Features of Wolfgang Pauli’s Philosophy

Abstract

There is no systematic presentation of Pauli’s philosophical thought, and therefore one must form a view of it on the basis of Pauli’s rather concise articles concerning epistemological and ontological questions and from his extensive correspondence. The review given here is based on work done during nearly 20 years of study in the area of Pauli’s philosophy. I have given a more comprehensive description of the subject in my book Beyond the Atom. The Philosophical Thought of Wolfgang Pauli (Laurikainen 1988) and in the Conference Proceedings Symposia on the Foundations of Modern Physics 1992: The Copenhagen Interpretation and Wolfgang Pauli (Symposia 1992) and Symposium on the Foundations of Modern Physics 1994: 70 Years of Matter Waves (Symposium 1994).