Bohr's interpretation of quantum mechanics has been criticized as incoherent
and opportunistic, and based on doubtful philosophical premises. If so Bohr's
influence, in the pre-war period of 1927-1939, is the harder to explain, and
the acceptance of his approach to quantum mechanics over de Broglie's had no
reasonable foundation. But Bohr's interpretation changed little from the time
of its first appearance, and stood independent of any philosophical
presuppositions. The principle of complementarity is itself best read as a
conjecture of unusually wide scope, on the nature and future course of
explanations in the sciences (and not only the physical sciences). If it must
be judged a failure today, it is not because of any internal inconsistency.Comment: 29 page