 The first ‘modal interpretation’ of quantum mechanics was proposed by Van Fraassen (1973, 1991), and was strictly an interpretation of the theory (while other later versions came more to resemble pilot-wave theories; see the entry on  modal interpretations).  Van Fraassen’s basic intuition was that the quantum state of a system should be understood as describing a collection of possibilities, represented by components in the (mixed) quantum state. His proposal considers only decompositions at single instants, and is agnostic about re-identification over time. Thus, it can directly exploit only the fact that decoherence produces descriptions in terms of classical-like states, which will count as possibilities in Van Fraassen’s sense. This ensures ‘empirical adequacy’ of the quantum description (crucial in Van Fraassen’s  constructive empiricism).  The dynamical aspects of decoherence can be exploited indirectly, in that single-time components will exhibit records of the past, which ensure adequacy with respect to observations, but about whose veridicity Van Fraassen remains agnostic.