[Revised entry by Richard Healey on September 8, 2026.
Changes to: Main text, Bibliography, notes.html]
Quantum theory is fundamental to contemporary physics.[1] It is natural to view a fundamental physical theory as describing or representing the physical world. But many physicists and some philosophers have questioned or rejected this view of quantum theory. They have viewed the theory as concerned with our observation and description of, knowledge or beliefs about, or interactions with the world. Views of this kind have been expressed since the 1920s when…