This selection of reviews and papers is intended to stimulate renewed reflection on the fundamental and practical aspects of probability in physics. While putting emphasis on conceptual aspects in the foundations of statistical and quantum mechanics, the book deals with the philosophy of probability in its interrelation with mathematics and physics in general. Addressing graduate students and researchers in physics and mathematics together with philosophers of science, the contributions avoid cumbersome technicalities in order to make the book worthwhile reading for nonspecialists and specialists alike.

TheconferenceChanceinPhysics: FoundationsandPerspectiveswasheldfrom 29thNovemberto3rdDecember1999inIschia, Italy. Itwassponsoredbythe IstitutoItalianoPerGliStudiFiloso?ciinNaples, bytheDeutscheForschun- gemeinschaft(DFG), andbytheSocietaItalianaDiFondamentiDellaFisica. SponsoringbytheInternationalSchoolforAdvancedStudies(ISAS)ofTrieste, Italy, madethecompilationofthisvolumepossible;thefundingbytheIs- tutoItalianoPerGliStudiFiloso?ciwascrucialfortheconferenceandisvery gratefullyacknowledged. TheIstitutomanagedtoprovideauniqueatmosphere foraninterdisciplinarymeeting, andtheseproceedingsre?ectindeedthevery friendlybutneverthelessintenseandneverendingdiscussionsononeofthemost debatedissuesofscience: probability, andinparticularprobabilityinphysics. Wegratefullyacknowlegdetheorganisationalworkaswellastheeditorialwork donebyoursecretaryofthemeetingPhDstudentRoderichTumulka. Themeetingwasintendedtostimulaterenewedre?ectiononthefundam- talandpracticalaspectsofprobabilityinphysics, inparticularthefoundations ofstatisticalsechanics, theprobabilityinthefoundationsofquantummech- ics, thealgebraicviewofprobabilityandthephilosophyofprobabilityinits interrelationwithphysics. Questionslikewhatprobabilityis, orwhatitisabout, orhowprobability entersphysicsareofasubtlekind. Theyaredi?cultinvariousways, often mixedupwiththeenormouscomplexityandtheinescapablelackofmat- maticalrigorinthephysicalapplication, orwiththefoundationalproblemsof quantummechanics, wheretheprobabilisticignoranceconcerningthevaluesof certainphysicalquantitieshasevenbeenelevatedtoamatterofprinciple. At present, theunderstandingofprobabilityinphysicsisalmostaspersonalasthe understandingofquantumtheory. Theaimoftheconferencewasthustofocusonideasaboutprobabilityin physics, itsmeaninganditsphilosophicalimplications, byreviewingthedi?erent facetsofprobabilityinphysicsinitsmodernsettingsandbytakingintoaccount modernquantumtheorieswithoutobservers, wheretheoriginofprobabilityis notmysti?edbydogmatism. Thereviewsweregiveninone-hourtalks, andthediscussionswereheldin theformofroundtables, whereshortercontributionswerealsogiven. Thespeakerswereaskednottodilutethemainthemesoftheconference withtechnicalitiesandtofocussharplyontheissueofprobability. Thiswas VI Preface takentoheartbyallspeakersandthemeetingthusprovedverysuccessful. The contributionsinthisvolumeconsequentlyfocusonconceptualissues, andthey makeworthwhilereadingforspecialistsinthe?eldoffoundationsaswellasfor nonspecialists, becauseextensivetechnicalpriorknowledgeisnotrequired. The contributionshavebeenleftintheordertheywerediscussedinthemeeting, whichprovedtobeaverynaturalone: 1. ClassicalStatisticalMechanics, whereBoltzmann'sunderstandingofstat- ticalmechnanicsasarisingfromkineticgastheoryisreviewedandputinto modernperspectives, withanoutlookonrelativisticstatisticalmechanics. Therelativelackofemphasisonthee?ectofchaoticbehaviouronthefo- dationsofprobabilityisnoteworthy. 2. QuantumMechanics, wherewereviewthoseontologicalquantumtheories, thathavebeenmostseriouslydiscussedintherecentyears. Amongthese areadeterministictheory(Bohmianmechanics)andboththeintrinsically randomtheoriesofwavepacketreductionandtheoperator-basedconsistent (decoherent)histories. Itstartswiththe"orthodox"view, againwith- phasisontheprobabilisticaspectsofthesetheories. 3. Chaoticsystems, wherethedynamicalaspectsforthefoundationsofpro- bilityinphysicsareadressed. 4. PhilosophyofProbability, wheretheissuesoftheearliersectionsarefurther scrutinizedonphilosophicalgrounds. Thesecontributionshavenoabstracts. T

In this nuanced look at white working-class life and politics in twentieth-century America, Kenneth Durr takes readers into the neighborhoods, workplaces, and community institutions of blue-collar Baltimore in the decades after World War II.

Challenging notions that the "white backlash" of the 1960s and 1970s was driven by increasing race resentment, Durr details the rise of a working-class populism shaped by mistrust of the means and ends of postwar liberalism in the face of urban decline. Exploring the effects of desegregation, deindustrialization, recession, and the rise of urban crime, Durr shows how legitimate economic, social, and political grievances convinced white working-class Baltimoreans that they were threatened more by the actions of liberal policymakers than by the incursions of urban blacks.

While acknowledging the parochialism and racial exclusivity of white working-class life, Durr adopts an empathetic view of workers and their institutions. "Behind the Backlash" melds ethnic, labor, and political history to paint a rich portrait of urban life--and the sweeping social and economic changes that reshaped America's cities and politics in the late twentieth century.