John Stewart Bell and Experimental Quantum Metaphysics

Abstract

John Stewart Bell played a crucial role in establishing the foundations of quantum mechanics as an undisputed part of contemporary physics in its own right. Moreover, Bell’s work was essential for the task of providing an experimental test for some deep conceptual implications of quantum mechanics, leading to what has been defined Experimental metaphysics. In the talk the intellectual biography of Bell will be outlined, with a special attention to Bell’s relation to the Einsteinian legacy and to some frequent misrepresentations of his results.