© 1995 by British Society for the Philosophy of Science
Articles |
Einstein, Bell, and Nonseparable Realism
Dipartimento di Filosofia, Universita di Firenze
In the context of stochastic hidden variable theories, Howard has argued that the role of separabilityspatially separated systems possess distinct real stateshas been underestimated. Howard claims that separability is equivalent to Jarretts completeness: this equivalence should imply that the Bell theorem forces us to give up either separability or locality. Howard's claim, however, is shown to be ill founded since it is based on an implausible assumption. The necessity of sharply distinguishing separability and locality is emphasized: a quantitative formulation of separability, due to D'Espagnat, is reviewed and found unsatisfactory, in that it basically conflates separability and locality in a single notion. Finally, the possibility of an Einsteinian nonseparable realism, envisaged by Shimony, is reviewed and found also to be implausible.