Philosophical Lectures on Probability

by Bruno de Finetti

Author	: Bruno de Finetti
Publisher	: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages	: 239
Release	: 2008-05-20
Genre	: Science
ISBN	: 1402082010

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Bruno de Finetti (1906–1985) is the founder of the subjective interpretation of probability, together with the British philosopher Frank Plumpton Ramsey. His related notion of “exchangeability” revolutionized the statistical methodology. This book (based on a course held in 1979) explains in a language accessible also to non-mathematicians the fundamental tenets and implications of subjectivism, according to which the probability of any well specified fact F refers to the degree of belief actually held by someone, on the ground of her whole knowledge, on the truth of the assertion that F obtains.

Philosophy of Probability and Statistical Modelling

by Mauricio Suárez

Author	: Mauricio Suárez
Publisher	: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages	:
Release	: 2021-01-21
Genre	: Philosophy
ISBN	: 1108983847

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This Element has two main aims. The first one (sections 1-7) is an historically informed review of the philosophy of probability. It describes recent historiography, lays out the distinction between subjective and objective notions, and concludes by applying the historical lessons to the main interpretations of probability. The second aim (sections 8-13) focuses entirely on objective probability, and advances a number of novel theses regarding its role in scientific practice. A distinction is drawn between traditional attempts to interpret chance, and a novel methodological study of its application. A radical form of pluralism is then introduced, advocating a tripartite distinction between propensities, probabilities and frequencies. Finally, a distinction is drawn between two different applications of chance in statistical modelling which, it is argued, vindicates the overall methodological approach. The ensuing conception of objective probability in practice is the 'complex nexus of chance'.

Probability and Evidence

by Alfred Jules Ayer

Author	: Alfred Jules Ayer
Publisher	: Columbia University Press
Total Pages	: 176
Release	: 2006
Genre	: Mathematics
ISBN	: 9780231132756

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In this new edition of Probability and Evidence, first published in 1972, one of the foremost analytical philosophers of the twentieth century addresses central questions in epistemology and the philosophy of science. Based on Ayer's influential Dewey Lectures of 1970, Probability and Evidence contains revised versions of the lectures and two additional essays. This new edition includes Graham Macdonald's extensive introduction explaining the book's importance and influence in contemporary philosophy.

Philosophical Devices

by David Papineau

Author	: David Papineau
Publisher	: OUP Oxford
Total Pages	: 224
Release	: 2012-10-04
Genre	: Philosophy
ISBN	: 0191656259

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This book is designed to explain the technical ideas that are taken for granted in much contemporary philosophical writing. Notions like 'denumerability', 'modal scope distinction', 'Bayesian conditionalization', and 'logical completeness' are usually only elucidated deep within difficult specialist texts. By offering simple explanations that by-pass much irrelevant and boring detail, Philosophical Devices is able to cover a wealth of material that is normally only available to specialists. The book contains four sections, each of three chapters. The first section is about sets and numbers, starting with the membership relation and ending with the generalized continuum hypothesis. The second is about analyticity, a prioricity, and necessity. The third is about probability, outlining the difference between objective and subjective probability and exploring aspects of conditionalization and correlation. The fourth deals with metalogic, focusing on the contrast between syntax and semantics, and finishing with a sketch of Gödel's theorem. Philosophical Devices will be useful for university students who have got past the foothills of philosophy and are starting to read more widely, but it does not assume any prior expertise. All the issues discussed are intrinsically interesting, and often downright fascinating. It can be read with pleasure and profit by anybody who is curious about the technical infrastructure of contemporary philosophy.

Lectures on Inductive Logic

by Jon Williamson

Author	: Jon Williamson
Publisher	: Oxford University Press
Total Pages	: 253
Release	: 2017-01-19
Genre	: Mathematics
ISBN	: 0191644552

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Logic is a field studied mainly by researchers and students of philosophy, mathematics and computing. Inductive logic seeks to determine the extent to which the premisses of an argument entail its conclusion, aiming to provide a theory of how one should reason in the face of uncertainty. It has applications to decision making and artificial intelligence, as well as how scientists should reason when not in possession of the full facts. In this book, Jon Williamson embarks on a quest to find a general, reasonable, applicable inductive logic (GRAIL), all the while examining why pioneers such as Ludwig Wittgenstein and Rudolf Carnap did not entirely succeed in this task. Along the way he presents a general framework for the field, and reaches a new inductive logic, which builds upon recent developments in Bayesian epistemology (a theory about how strongly one should believe the various propositions that one can express). The book explores this logic in detail, discusses some key criticisms, and considers how it might be justified. Is this truly the GRAIL? Although the book presents new research, this material is well suited to being delivered as a series of lectures to students of philosophy, mathematics, or computing and doubles as an introduction to the field of inductive logic

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Science

by Martin Curd

Author	: Martin Curd
Publisher	: Routledge
Total Pages	: 736
Release	: 2013-07-24
Genre	: Philosophy
ISBN	: 1135011095

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The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Science is an indispensable reference source and guide to the major themes, debates, problems and topics in philosophy of science. It contains sixty-two specially commissioned entries by a leading team of international contributors. Organized into four parts it covers: historical and philosophical context debates concepts the individual sciences. The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Science addresses all of the essential topics that students of philosophy of science need to know - from empiricism, explanation and experiment to causation, observation, prediction and more - and contains many helpful features including chapters on individual sciences (such as biology, chemistry, physics and psychology), further reading and cross-referencing at the end of each chapter. Expanded and revised throughout, this second edition includes new chapters on Conventionalism, Social Epistemology, Computer Simulation, Thought Experiments, Pseudoscience, Species and Taxonomy, and Cosmology.

Quantum Probability and Randomness

by Andrei Khrennikov

Author	: Andrei Khrennikov
Publisher	: MDPI
Total Pages	: 276
Release	: 2019-04-18
Genre	: Science
ISBN	: 3038977144

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The last few years have been characterized by a tremendous development of quantum information and probability and their applications, including quantum computing, quantum cryptography, and quantum random generators. In spite of the successful development of quantum technology, its foundational basis is still not concrete and contains a few sandy and shaky slices. Quantum random generators are one of the most promising outputs of the recent quantum information revolution. Therefore, it is very important to reconsider the foundational basis of this project, starting with the notion of irreducible quantum randomness. Quantum probabilities present a powerful tool to model uncertainty. Interpretations of quantum probability and foundational meaning of its basic tools, starting with the Born rule, are among the topics which will be covered by this issue. Recently, quantum probability has started to play an important role in a few areas of research outside quantum physics—in particular, quantum probabilistic treatment of problems of theory of decision making under uncertainty. Such studies are also among the topics of this issue.

Quantum Foundations, Probability and Information

by Andrei Khrennikov

Author	: Andrei Khrennikov
Publisher	: Springer
Total Pages	: 304
Release	: 2018-06-13
Genre	: Science
ISBN	: 3319749714

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Composed of contributions from leading experts in quantum foundations, this volume presents viewpoints on a number of complex problems through informational, probabilistic, and mathematical perspectives and features novel mathematical models of quantum and subquantum phenomena. Rich with multi-disciplinary mathematical content, this book includes applications of partial differential equations in quantum field theory, differential geometry, oscillatory processes and vibrations, and Feynman integrals for quickly growing potential functions. Due to rapid growth in the field in recent years, this volume aims to promote interdisciplinary collaboration in the areas of quantum probability, information, communication and foundation, and mathematical physics. Many papers discuss complex yet novel problems that depart from the mainstream of quantum physical studies. Others devote explanation to fundamental problems of the conventional quantum theory, including its mathematical formalism. Overall, authors cover a diverse set of topics, including quantum and classical field theory and oscillatory processing, quantum mechanics from a Darwinian evolutionary perspective, and biological applications of quantum theory. Together in one volume, these essays will be useful to experts in the corresponding areas of quantum theory. Theoreticians, experimenters, mathematicians, and even philosophers in quantum physics and quantum probability and information theory can consider this book a valuable resource.

Philosophical Foundations of Evidence Law

by Christian Dahlman

Author	: Christian Dahlman
Publisher	: Oxford University Press
Total Pages	: 433
Release	: 2021-09-30
Genre	: Law
ISBN	: 0192603094

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Philosophy has a strong presence in evidence law and the nature of evidence is a highly debated topic in both general and social epistemology; legal theorists working in the evidence law area draw on different underlying philosophical theories of knowledge, inference and probability. Core evidentiary concepts and principles, such as the presumption of innocence, standards of proof, and others, reply on moral and political philosophy for their understanding and interpretation. Written by leading scholars across the globe, this volume brings together philosophical debates on the nature and function of evidence, proof, and law of evidence. It presents a cross-disciplinary overview of central issues in the theory and methodology of legal evidence and covers a wide range of contemporary debates on topics such as truth, proof, economics, gender, and race. The volume covers different theoretical approaches to legal evidence, including the Bayesian approach, scenario theory and inference to the best explanation. Divided in to five parts, Philosophical Foundations of Evidence Law, covers different theoretical approaches to legal evidence, including the Bayesian approach, scenario theory and inference to the best explanation.