Don’t Squint: Quantum Hylomorphism Can Solve Albert’s Macro-Object Problem
Abstract
Primitive ontology (PO) approaches to quantum theory aim to describe the world in terms of matter distributed in 3-space (the PO). David Albert argues they cannot recover macroscopic structure without ad hoc coarse-graining (“squinting”). This paper formalises a Macro-Object Problem for the PO-approach based on Albert’s critique and enlists Contextual Bohmian Mechanics (CBM) to offer a solution. CBM augments the PO with a local context field
$$\Lambda (x,t)$$
. While
$$\Lambda$$
is fixed, the wavefunction
$$\Psi$$
evolves unitarily and the particles
Q
follow a Bohmian guidance law; when
$$\Lambda$$
changes on a bounded region
R
, a local completely positive instrument updates the state, with open-system energy bookkeeping and statistical locality outside
R
. I show that
$$\Lambda$$
tiles spacetime into macro-object tokens, modulates the dynamics to confer genuine causal powers, and does so entirely within 3-space—thereby satisfying all the conditions for solving the Macro-Object Problem. I argue that physical objects are hylomorphic composites of
both
matter (hylē)
and
form (morphē), with matter corresponding to the particles and
$$\Lambda$$
serving as a rigorous surrogate for local form.
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