Aristotle, Heisenberg, and the Non-Locality and Non-Temporality of a Single Photon

Within the framework of Aristotelian philosophy, the author presents an analysis of the exchange of energy by photons. These massless particles exhibit the most pronounced quantum behavior and pose serious challenges to classical physics. The arguments are based on the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and a number of Gedanken experiments on single photons. For illustration, experimental and numerical work on optical microresonators is discussed. These allow to assess the validity of Maxwell’s equations and to verify some of the Gedanken experiments. As a result of the discussion, one has to accept that the photon trajectory is causally influenced by the final state, which is separated in time and space from the initial state: non-locality and non-temporality.