The Minimal Modal Interpretation of Quantum Theory

Abstract

We do not attempt to wade into the centuries-old philosophical debate regarding the ultimate meaning of probability in terms of anything more fundamental, as encapsulated wonderfully by Russell in 1929 (quoted in [179]): "Probability is the most important concept in modern science, especially as nobody has the slightest notion what it means." Interestingly, this quotation parallels Feynman's famous quip in 1961 that "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics." [110] For our purposes, we treat probability as a primitive, irreducible concept, just as we treat concepts like ontology and epistemology.