Philosophical Theories of Probability

Philosophical Theories of Probability
Author: Donald Gillies
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2000
Genre: Mathématiques
ISBN: 9780415182768

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The use of probability and statistics has increased dramatically in all fields of research. This book presents an account of the resultant philosophical theories of probability and explains how they relate to one another.

Philosophical Foundations of Probability Theory

Philosophical Foundations of Probability Theory
Author: Roy Weatherford
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2022-06-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1000626091

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First published in 1982, Philosophical Foundations of Probability Theory starts with the uses we make of the concept in everyday life and then examines the rival theories that seek to account for these applications. It offers a critical exposition of the major philosophical theories of probability, with special attention given to the metaphysical and epistemological assumptions and implications of each. The Classical Theory suggests probability is simply the ratio of favorable cases to all equi-possible cases: it is this theory that is relied on by gamblers and by most non-specialists. The A Priori Theory, on the other hand, describes probability as a logical relation between statements based on evidence. The Relative Frequency theories locate it not in logic but among empirical rates of occurrence in the real world, while the Subjectivist Theory identifies probability with the degree of a person’s belief in a proposition. Each of these types of theory is examined in turn, and the treatment is unified by the use of running examples and parallel analyses of each theory. The final chapter includes a summary and the author’s conclusions. This book is an essential read for scholars and researchers of Philosophy.

Probability

Probability
Author: D. H. Mellor
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2005
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780415282505

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This work presents the basic concepts of probability to philosophy students who are new to this area of the subject.

A Philosophical Guide to Chance

A Philosophical Guide to Chance
Author: Toby Handfield
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2012-04-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1107080010

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It is a commonplace that scientific inquiry makes extensive use of probabilities, many of which seem to be objective chances, describing features of reality that are independent of our minds. Such chances appear to have a number of paradoxical or puzzling features: they appear to be mind-independent facts, but they are intimately connected with rational psychology; they display a temporal asymmetry, but they are supposed to be grounded in physical laws that are time-symmetric; and chances are used to explain and predict frequencies of events, although they cannot be reduced to those frequencies. This book offers an accessible and non-technical introduction to these and other puzzles. Toby Handfield engages with traditional metaphysics and philosophy of science, drawing upon recent work in the foundations of quantum mechanics and thermodynamics to provide a novel account of objective probability that is empirically informed without requiring specialist scientific knowledge.

Probability is the Very Guide of Life

Probability is the Very Guide of Life
Author: Henry Ely Kyburg
Publisher: Open Court Publishing
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2003
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780812695137

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This collection of philosophical essays looks at various technical problems in the use of probability theory for guidance in practical decisions. This text is intended for those who already have a basic grounding in philosophy, logic and probabilty theory.

Philosophy of Probability

Philosophy of Probability
Author: J.P. Dubucs
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2013-04-17
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9401582084

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Philosophy of Probability provides a comprehensive introduction to theoretical issues that occupy a central position in disciplines ranging from philosophy of mind and epistemology to cognitive science, decision theory and artificial intelligence. Some contributions shed new light on the standard conceptions of probability (Bayesianism, logical and computational theories); others offer detailed analyses of two important topics in the field of cognitive science: the meaning and the representation of (partial) belief, and the management of uncertainty. The authors of this well-balanced account are philosophers as well as computer scientists (among them, L.J. Cohen, D. Miller, P. Gärdenfors, J. Vickers, D. Dubois and H. Prade). This multidisciplinary approach to probability is designed to illuminate the intricacies of the problems in the domain of cognitive inquiry. No one interested in epistemology or aritificial intelligence will want to miss it.

Philosophy and Probability

Philosophy and Probability
Author: Timothy Childers
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 213
Release: 2013-05-30
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0199661820

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Probability is increasingly important for our understanding of the world. What is probability? How do we model it, and how do we use it? Timothy Childers presents a lively introduction to the foundations of probability and to philosophical issues it raises. He keeps technicalities to a minimum, and assumes no prior knowledge of the subject. He explains the main interpretations of probability-frequentist, propensity, classical, Bayesian, and objective Bayesian-and uses stimulating examples to bring the subject to life. All students of philosophy will benefit from an understanding of probability, and this is the book to provide it.

Causality, Probability, and Medicine

Causality, Probability, and Medicine
Author: Donald Gillies
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 261
Release: 2018-08-15
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1317564286

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Why is understanding causation so important in philosophy and the sciences? Should causation be defined in terms of probability? Whilst causation plays a major role in theories and concepts of medicine, little attempt has been made to connect causation and probability with medicine itself. Causality, Probability, and Medicine is one of the first books to apply philosophical reasoning about causality to important topics and debates in medicine. Donald Gillies provides a thorough introduction to and assessment of competing theories of causality in philosophy, including action-related theories, causality and mechanisms, and causality and probability. Throughout the book he applies them to important discoveries and theories within medicine, such as germ theory; tuberculosis and cholera; smoking and heart disease; the first ever randomized controlled trial designed to test the treatment of tuberculosis; the growing area of philosophy of evidence-based medicine; and philosophy of epidemiology. This book will be of great interest to students and researchers in philosophy of science and philosophy of medicine, as well as those working in medicine, nursing and related health disciplines where a working knowledge of causality and probability is required.

Philosophical Devices

Philosophical Devices
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.

Philosophy of Probability and Statistical Modelling

Philosophy of Probability and Statistical Modelling
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'.