 Within the functional project one could argue in defense of premises 2 and 3 that local causal relations satisfy certain crucial desiderata not satisfied by non-local, putatively causal relations. Some well-known remarks by Albert Einstein concerning the role of locality suggest one route such an argument could take. According to Einstein, in a world that is not synchronically and diachronically local “physical thought” and “the establishment of empirically testable laws in the sense familiar to us” would be impossible (1948: 322; quoted in Howard 1985: 187–8). Einstein’s remarks suggest an argument according to which only causal relations satisfying various locality principles can fulfil cognitively useful functions such as allowing for testable predictions and guiding interventions. Yet this line of argument comes under pressure to the extent that quantum systems violate certain locality principles yet allow for testable predictions and experimental interventions (see  section 7).