Abstract

Pragmatism about quantum mechanics provides an attractive approach to the question of what quantum mechanics says. However, the conclusions reached by pragmatists concerning the content of quantum mechanics cannot be squared with the way that physicists use quantum mechanics to describe physical systems. In particular, attention to actual use results in ascribing content to claims about physical systems over a much wider range of contexts than countenanced by recent pragmatists. The resulting account of the content of quantum mechanics is much closer to quantum logic, and threatens the pragmatist conclusion that quantum mechanics requires no supplementation.