Realism and underdetermination: Some clues from the practices-up

Recent attempts to turn Standard Quantum Theory into a coherent representat ional system have improved markedly over previous offerings. Important ques tions about the nature of material systems remain open, however, as current theorizing effectively resolves into a multiplicity of incompatible statem ents about the nature of physical systems. Specifically, the most cogent pr oposals to date land in effective empirical equivalence, reviving old anti- realist fears about quantum physics. In this paper such fears are discussed and found unsound. It is argued that nothing of global skeptical or agnost ic significance follows from the kind of underdetermination presently encou ntered in fundamental quantum theory. The case is instructive, however, for what it shows about the characteristics and prospects of scientific realis m as a perspective in contemporary philosophy of science.