Bell's Theorem and its associated implications for the nature of the physical world remain topics of great interest. For this reason many meetings have been recently held on the interpretation of quantum theory and the implications of Bell's Theorem. Generally these meetings have been held primarily for quantum physicists and philosophers of science who have been or are actively working on the topic. Nevertheless, other philosophers of science, mathematicians, engineers as well as members of the general public have increasingly taken interest in Bell's Theorem and its implications. The Fall Workshop held at George Mason University on October 21 and 22, 1988 and titled "Bell's Theorem, Quantum Theory and Conceptions of the Universe" was of a more general scope. Not only it attracted experts in the field, it also covered other topics such as the implications of quantum non-locality for the nature of consciousness, cosmology, the anthropic principle, etc. topics usually not covered in previous meetings of this kind. The meeting was attended by more than one hundred ten specialists and other interested people from all over the world. The purpose of the meeting was not to provide a definitive answer to the general questions raised by Bell's Theorem. It is likely that the debate will go on for quite a long time. Rather, it was meant to contribute to the important dialogue between different disciplines.

Inhalt

On a Theory of the Collapse of the Wave Function.- On the Measurement Problem of Quantum Mechanics.- A New Characteristic of a Quantum System Between Two Measurements - A "Weak Value".- Can the Quantum Measurement Process be put into QED?.- Chained Bell Inequalities.- From George Boole to John Bell - The Origins of Bell's Inequality.- The Logic of Quantum Nonseparability.- Bell's Theorem and Mermin's Gedanken Experiment.- Searching for Mutually Unbiased Observables.- Going Beyond Bell's Theorem.- Quantum Field Theory, Bell's Inequalities and the Problem of Hidden Variables.- What Locality Isn't: A Response to Jarrett.- Bell's Theorem: The Forgotten Loophole and How to Exploit It.- Are More Economical Escapes From Bell's Strictures Possible?.- Concerning Theories Free From Bell's Constraint.- The EPR Paradox, Actions at a Distance and the Theory of Relativity.- Conditionals, Probability and Bell's Theorem.- Relativity and Probability, Classical or Quantal.- Relativistic Probability Amplitudes and State Preparation.- Non-Linearity and Post-Bell Quantum Mechanics.- Observable Effects of the Uncertainty Relations in the Covariant Phase Space Representation of Quantum Mechanics.- Geometry of Cyclic Quantum Evolutions.- On the Computer Simulation of the EPR-Bohm Experiment.- Discrete Phase-Space Model for Quantum Mechanics.- A Possible Explanation of Quantum Mechanics Behavior by a Classical Cellular Automaton Construction.- Quantum Mechanical Information is Ubiquitous.- The Unobservability of Spinor Structure.- Teaching QM: True, Trivial, Inevitable.- Quantum Cosmology and Quantum Mechanics.- Cosmology, EPR Correlations and Separability.- Bell's Theorem: Form and Information in the Quantum Theory.- Horizons of Knowledge in Cosmology.- The Ontological Status of the Cosmological Singularity.- Quantum Cosmological Generality of Inflation in Anisotropic Spacetime.- Mass Generation in the Early Universe.- Massive Photons and Monopoles.- The Large-Scale Streaming of Galaxies.- The Numerically Simple Universe.- Size of a Least Unit.- Bell, Book and Candle: The Limning of a Mystery.- Complementarity and Space-Time Description.- Complementarity and Cosmology.- Quantum Ontologies.- Henry P. Stapp on Quantum Theory and Reality.- For Whom the Bell Tolls: A Plea for Fundamental Ontology.- The Role of Consciousness in Physical Reality.- The Significance of Human Observation in Measurement in Quantum Mechanics; The Nature of the Traditional Separation Between Psychology and Physics.- The Universe in the Light of Contemporary Scientific Developments.- Name Index.