  In this thought-provoking book, Richard Healey proposes a new interpretation
of quantum theory inspired by pragmatist philosophy. Healey puts forward the
interpretation as an alternative to realist quantum theories on the one hand
such as Bohmian mechanics, spontaneous collapse theories, and many-worlds
interpretations, which are different proposals for describing what the quantum
world is like and what the basic laws of physics are, and non-realist
interpretations on the other hand such as quantum Bayesianism, which proposes
to understand quantum theory as describing agents' subjective epistemic states.
The central idea of Healey's proposal is to understand quantum theory as
providing not a description of the physical world but a set of authoritative
and objectively correct prescriptions about how agents should act. The book
provides a detailed development and defense of that idea, and it contains
interesting discussions about a wide range of philosophical issues such as
representation, probability, explanation, causation, objectivity, meaning, and
fundamentality. Healey's project is at the intersection of physics and
philosophy. The book is divided into two parts. Part I of the book discusses
the foundational questions in quantum theory from the perspective of the
prescriptive interpretation. In Part II, Healey discusses the philosophical
implications of the view. Both parts are written in a way that is largely
accessible to non-specialists. In this brief book review, I will focus on two
questions: (1) How does Healey's idea work? (2) What reasons are there to
believe in it?
