[OPE-L:3509] Re: Re: Marxism and 19th century materialism

[Paul Cockshott <wpc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 21:43 18/06/00 -0400, you wrote:
> I don't believe that Niels Bohr had any such "delivery" in mind
> when he formulated his philosophical gloss on the scientific
> discoveries in which he played so large a part.  He was
> struggling honestly with the implications of the new quantum
> findings, without any prior commitment to philosophical
> idealism.  (I do agree, however, that later commentators --
> lacking Bohr's intimate knowledge of the actual physics -- have
> taken the "Copenhagen interpretation" as a springboard for
> instrumentalist and idealist musings.)

I would not accuse him of that, though I do believe that he
was influenced by the instrumentalist philosophies current
at the time.

The blessed delivery that I spoke of was how it has been seen
by numerous New Age, spiritualist and reactionary commentators
since.

Beyond that I regard the Copenhagen interpretation as itself being
an idealist interpretation of the subject matter.