Conclusion: Arch and Scaffold

Abstract

Abstract This chapter elaborates and reflects on the authors’ use of the “arch-and-scaffold” metaphor to characterize the transition from classical mechanics, via the old quantum theory, to modern quantum mechanics. It discusses in detail why this metaphor does justice to both continuous and discontinuous aspects of this transition, as well the various ways in which the metaphor applies to the contents of both volumes of the work. It contrasts the account of this transition based on the “arch-and-scaffold” metaphor with an account based on Kuhn’s notion of a paradigm shift. This shift occurs, resulting in the understanding in which the continuous aspects of the transition from classical to quantum mechanics are lost.