Page 49 - EH57

FEATURES | EASTERN HORIZON 47

origination of all things. In other contemporary quantum physics, a system at a given time, wave-
words, all phenomena lack their own you’re not alone. particle duality points us to one of
inherent existence because their the central problems at the heart
very existence is dependent on the One of the most glaring examples of quantum science: is there an
conditions that gave rise to them. of the intersection of Madhyamaka objective, independent reality that
and quantum physics is to be found is capable of being quantified, or are
Yet for Nagarjuna, to say that in the principle of wave-particle all such measurements subjective
nothing has any inherent existence duality, which holds that elementary by virtue of the fact that they are
is not the same as saying nothing particles (fermions and bosons) always dependent on an observer
exists; it is merely to posit that can exhibit the characteristics of to take them, thus merely reflecting
nothing has a “fixed and permanent both particles and waves, yet can be the observer’s knowledge?
nature.” In order to clarify this, wholly reduced to neither.
Nagarjuna posited two truths: As Einstein and the physicists at
a conventional truth and an “There seems no likelihood for the conference pointed out, these
ultimate truth. In so doing, he forming a consistent description of seemingly contradictory pictures of
recognized that it is possible to the phenomena of light by a choice reality really only make sense if you
simultaneously perceive things as of only one of the two languages take them both together: a middle
actually existing out there in the [particle or wave],” Einstein once way, much like the Madhyamaka
world (the conventional truth) as said while discussing the nature of philosophy.
well as recognizing that they lack light. “It seems as though we must
any inherent existence (the ultimate use sometimes the one theory and On the one hand, the act of
truth). Holding these two seemingly sometimes the other, while at times observation collapses the
contradictory positions is only we may use either. We are faced indeterminacy of the wave function
possible by recognizing that ‘reality’ with a new kind of difficulty. We into a definite reality: the cat in
is an experiential phenomenon, not have two contradictory pictures of the box is either dead or alive,
one that has an objective existence reality; separately neither of them the beam of light is composed of
independent of our experience of it. fully explains the phenomena of either particles or waves, which
light, but together they do.” is determined through the act of
If you’re confused as to just what Like the quantum wave function, observation. Yet in each case, the
these ancient musings on the a probability matrix used by underlying reality is that the cat
nature of reality have to do with physicists to describe the state of and light don’t inherently have