No quantum language

(Andrew W., PoliSci@Madison, Our place in the universe: Alexander Wendt and

quantum mechanics International Theory (2022), 14 (1), 130–145 doi:10.1017/S1752971921000063)

In chapter 11, Wendt argues for a quantum theory of language. He starts from the observation that the meaning of individual words and combinations of words is context dependent. The sentence, ‘I’m green’ could mean ‘I’m jealous’ if uttered in front of a friend’s Ferrari, ‘I’m seasick’ if moaned on a heaving deck, ‘I’m inexperienced’, if said in the face of a new task or ‘I’m environmentally conscious’ if said while throwing something in the recycling bin. Wendt asserts that contextdependent meaning supports a quantum interpretation of language, in which words and concepts are held in memory as entangled wave functions that collapse into specific meanings in correlated ways. He cites a few studies that apply quantum mathematical formulae to try to explain patterns of word association. I’m certainly not opposed to the notion that meaning is context dependent. However, as discussed earlier, I think it very improbable that uncollapsed wave functions exist in the brain, so by extension I think the quantum theory of language is unlikely to be the right one. With regard to the experiments purporting to support the quantum view, I would like to see experiments carefully designed to distinguish between quantum and classical neural network theoretic explanations, preferably designed by people who would like the quantum view to fail. If instead it succeeds, as quantum mechanics did against relentless attempts to disprove it, there will be reason to accept a quantum view of language.