Book contents
- Women in the History of Quantum Physics
- Women in the History of Quantum Physics
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 The Spectrum of He+ as a Proving Ground for Bohr’s Model of the Atom: A Legacy of Williamina Fleming’s Astrophysical Discovery
- 2 H. Johanna van Leeuwen, the Other Scientist behind the Bohr–Van Leeuwen Theorem
- 3 Hertha Sponer, Maven of Quantum Spectroscopy
- 4 Angular and Career Momentum: What Lucy Mensing Contributed to Physics and Why She Left the Field
- 5 Discouraging Jane: Dewey Among the Lucky Generation of US Physicists
- 6 Laura Chalk and the Stark Effect
- 7 Elizabeth Monroe Boggs: From Quantum Chemistry to the Manhattan Project
- 8 Excelsior! John Wheeler, Katharine Way, and the Role of Women in the Exploration of the Microcosm
- 9 Sonja Ashauer from São Paulo to Cambridge: A Journey to Quantum Electrodynamics
- 10 Untangling Entanglement History: Early Quantum Contributions of Chien-Shiung Wu
- 11 From Quantum Physics to Ethics: Grete Hermann on Heisenberg’s Cut
- 12 Women Take the Lead: A Physics Laboratory Under the Dictatorship in Portugal, 1940s–1960s
- 13 Carolyn Parker’s Electronic Frequencies
- 14 The Chew–Low–Salzman Method and Freda Friedman Salzman: A Physicist Between Nuclear and Social Interactions
- 15 Out of the Ivory Tower: Maria Lluïsa Canut and X-Ray Crystallography
- 16 Ana María Cetto Kramis: Light in Quantum Mechanics and Open Science
- Index
- References
11 - From Quantum Physics to Ethics: Grete Hermann on Heisenberg’s Cut
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 July 2025
Book contents
- Women in the History of Quantum Physics
- Women in the History of Quantum Physics
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 The Spectrum of He+ as a Proving Ground for Bohr’s Model of the Atom: A Legacy of Williamina Fleming’s Astrophysical Discovery
- 2 H. Johanna van Leeuwen, the Other Scientist behind the Bohr–Van Leeuwen Theorem
- 3 Hertha Sponer, Maven of Quantum Spectroscopy
- 4 Angular and Career Momentum: What Lucy Mensing Contributed to Physics and Why She Left the Field
- 5 Discouraging Jane: Dewey Among the Lucky Generation of US Physicists
- 6 Laura Chalk and the Stark Effect
- 7 Elizabeth Monroe Boggs: From Quantum Chemistry to the Manhattan Project
- 8 Excelsior! John Wheeler, Katharine Way, and the Role of Women in the Exploration of the Microcosm
- 9 Sonja Ashauer from São Paulo to Cambridge: A Journey to Quantum Electrodynamics
- 10 Untangling Entanglement History: Early Quantum Contributions of Chien-Shiung Wu
- 11 From Quantum Physics to Ethics: Grete Hermann on Heisenberg’s Cut
- 12 Women Take the Lead: A Physics Laboratory Under the Dictatorship in Portugal, 1940s–1960s
- 13 Carolyn Parker’s Electronic Frequencies
- 14 The Chew–Low–Salzman Method and Freda Friedman Salzman: A Physicist Between Nuclear and Social Interactions
- 15 Out of the Ivory Tower: Maria Lluïsa Canut and X-Ray Crystallography
- 16 Ana María Cetto Kramis: Light in Quantum Mechanics and Open Science
- Index
- References
Summary
In recent years, Grete Hermann (1901–1984) has been rediscovered as a principal figure in the history and philosophy of quantum physics. In particular, her criticism of Johann von Neumann’s so-called “no hidden variables” proof is a focal point of interest. Did she really find a mistake in this proof? We argue that the whole debate is misleading. It fits too well with the image of a forgotten woman who disproved a result of a mathematical genius, but it is neither historically nor systematically justified. Despite Hermann’s challenging thoughts on quantum physics, her impressive and important achievements were in ethics and politics. We offer a new and broader reading of Hermann’s interpretation of quantum physics and try to build a bridge between her works on quantum physics and ethics. In doing so, we focus on her interpretation of Heisenberg’s cut as a methaphorical device to argue against Leonard Nelson’s theory of free will and for freedom and responsibility as cornerstones of any democratic society.
Keywords
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- Chapter
- Information
- Women in the History of Quantum PhysicsBeyond <i>Knabenphysik</i>, pp. 309 - 336Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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