From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds:
Ontological Pluralism in Physics and Narratology
Marie-Laure Ryan (KITP 3-03-05) Talk: From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds: Ontological Plurality in Physics and..
Marie-Laure Ryan
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Contained in same spacetime as our
universe
Formed by different or similar
arrangements of particles
Follow the same laws of physics
Level 2 Parallel Universes
Formed by bursting of space bubbles
or black holes
Exist in embedded spacetime
Follow the same laws of physics but
with different constants
Marie-Laure Ryan (KITP 3-03-05) Talk: From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds: Ontological Plurality in Physics and..
Level 1 Parallel Universes
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Correspond to all mathematically
describable structures
Do not exist in space and time
Follow different laws of physics
Level 3 Parallel Universes
Postulated as an explanation of
quantum phenomena
Do not require any change in the laws
of physics
Marie-Laure Ryan (KITP 3-03-05) Talk: From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds: Ontological Plurality in Physics and..
Level 4 Parallel Universes
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The two slits experiment:
expected particle pattern
Marie-Laure Ryan (KITP 3-03-05) Talk: From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds: Ontological Plurality in Physics and..
The Two-Slits experiment
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Possible Worlds in Narrative
Theory
Proponents: Umberto Eco, Thomas Pavel,
Lubomír Doležel, Ruth Ronen, Marie-Laure
Ryan
Inspiration: modal logic (analytic
philosophy): Saul Kripke, Nicholas
Rescher, Alvin Plantinga, David Lewis
Marie-Laure Ryan (KITP 3-03-05) Talk: From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds: Ontological Plurality in Physics and..
The two slits experiment:
observed wave pattern
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David Lewis
Is a philosopher who is
Crazy enough to insist
That all logically possible worlds actually exist
--Armand T. Ringer
The indexical conception of
actuality
“The actual world” means “the
world in which I am located”.
Its reference varies with the
speaker. All possible worlds
are actual from the point of
view of their inhabitants
Marie-Laure Ryan (KITP 3-03-05) Talk: From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds: Ontological Plurality in Physics and..
Modal realism
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s
s
c
c
i
i
m
m
a
a
n
n
y
y
D
D
e
e
v
v
i
i
t
t
a
a
r
r
r
r
a
a
N
N
Structure of narrative universe
Marie-Laure Ryan (KITP 3-03-05) Talk: From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds: Ontological Plurality in Physics and..
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Jorge Luis Borges’ vision of the
multiverse narrative
In all fictional works, each time a man is
confronted with several alternatives, he
chooses one and eliminates the others; in
the fiction of Ts’ui Pên, he chooses—
simultaneously—all of them. He creates, in
this way, diverse futures, diverse times
which themselves also proliferate and fork.
…In the work of Ts’ui Pên, all possible
outcomes occur; each one is the point of
departure for other forkings.
Marie-Laure Ryan (KITP 3-03-05) Talk: From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds: Ontological Plurality in Physics and..
PW theory diagramming of multiverse
narrative
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Mentalism: It’s all a dream
Virtualism: Only one fork is actual
Allegory and metaphor: Purpose of
multiples branches is to illustrate an idea
Meta-textualism: Branches are drafts of a
novel, not actual events
Some types of narrative that create
a multiverse cosmology
Black hole narratives: Chronicles of Narnia
(C.S. Lewis), Jack and the Beanstalk
Marie-Laure Ryan (KITP 3-03-05) Talk: From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds: Ontological Plurality in Physics and..
Alternative interpretations for
branching stories
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Some types of narrative that create
a multiverse cosmology
Black hole narratives: Chronicles of Narnia
(C.S. Lewis), Jack and the Beanstalk
Metaleptic narratives: The Kugelmass
Episode (Woody Allen), Pleasantville
(movie)
Marie-Laure Ryan (KITP 3-03-05) Talk: From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds: Ontological Plurality in Physics and..
“Black hole” narrative
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Some types of narrative that create
a multiverse cosmology
Black hole narratives: Chronicles of Narnia (C.S.
Lewis), Jack and the Beanstalk
Metaleptic narratives: The Kugelmass Episode
(Woody Allen), Pleasantville (movie)
Marie-Laure Ryan (KITP 3-03-05) Talk: From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds: Ontological Plurality in Physics and..
Narrative stack
Science fiction stories that show counterparts of
the same individual in different worlds: The
Lathe of Heaven (Ursula K. Le Guin)
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Comparing Many Worlds Interpretation of
Physics and Possible Worlds Theory in
Narratology
Indexical theory of actuality:
narratology supports it, physics is
indifferent to it
Modal realism: physics supports it,
narratology is indifferent to it
Marie-Laure Ryan (KITP 3-03-05) Talk: From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds: Ontological Plurality in Physics and..
Counterpart relations in narrative
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