Philosophical Foundations of Probability Theory

Philosophical Foundations of Probability Theory PDF Author: Roy Weatherford
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000626091
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

Philosophical Foundations of Probability Theory

Philosophical Foundations of Probability Theory PDF Author: Roy Weatherford
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000626091
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

Philosophy and Probability

Philosophy and Probability PDF Author: Timothy Childers
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199661820
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 213

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

Philosophical Theories of Probability

Philosophical Theories of Probability PDF Author: Donald Gillies
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134672454
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 239

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Twentieth Century has seen a dramatic rise in the use of probability and statistics in almost all fields of research. This has stimulated many new philosophical ideas on probability. Philosophical Theories of Probability is the first book to present a clear, comprehensive and systematic account of these various theories and to explain how they relate to one another. Gillies also offers a distinctive version of the propensity theory of probability, and the intersubjective interpretation, which develops the subjective theory.

Foundations and Philosophy of Epistemic Applications of Probability Theory

Foundations and Philosophy of Epistemic Applications of Probability Theory PDF Author: W.L. Harper
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9789027706171
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 334

Get Book Here

Book Description
Proceedings of an International Research Colloquium held at the University of Western Ontario, 10-13 May 1973.

Philosophical Lectures on Probability

Philosophical Lectures on Probability PDF Author: Bruno de Finetti
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402082010
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 239

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

An Objective Theory of Probability (Routledge Revivals)

An Objective Theory of Probability (Routledge Revivals) PDF Author: Donald Gillies
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136810811
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Get Book Here

Book Description
This reissue of D. A. Gillies highly influential work, first published in 1973, is a philosophical theory of probability which seeks to develop von Mises’ views on the subject. In agreement with von Mises, the author regards probability theory as a mathematical science like mechanics or electrodynamics, and probability as an objective, measurable concept like force, mass or charge. On the other hand, Dr Gillies rejects von Mises’ definition of probability in terms of limiting frequency and claims that probability should be taken as a primitive or undefined term in accordance with modern axiomatic approaches. This of course raises the problem of how the abstract calculus of probability should be connected with the ‘actual world of experiments’. It is suggested that this link should be established, not by a definition of probability, but by an application of Popper’s concept of falsifiability. In addition to formulating his own interesting theory, Dr Gillies gives a detailed criticism of the generally accepted Neyman Pearson theory of testing, as well as of alternative philosophical approaches to probability theory. The reissue will be of interest both to philosophers with no previous knowledge of probability theory and to mathematicians interested in the foundations of probability theory and statistics.

A Philosophical Guide to Chance

A Philosophical Guide to Chance PDF Author: Toby Handfield
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110701378X
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 265

Get Book Here

Book Description
An introduction to the philosophy of chance which challenges realist accounts of chance.

Resonance: From Probability To Epistemology And Back

Resonance: From Probability To Epistemology And Back PDF Author: Krzysztof Burdzy
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 1783269227
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 429

Get Book Here

Book Description
Resonance examines some building blocks of epistemology as a prelude to the careful analysis of the foundations of probability. The concept of resonance is introduced to shed light on the philosophical problems of induction, consciousness, intelligence and free will. The same concept is later applied to provide support for a new philosophical theory of probability.Although based on existing ideas and theories, the epistemological concept of resonance is investigated for the first time in this book. The best-known philosophical theories of probability, frequency and subjective, are shown to be unrealistic and dissociated from the two main branches of statistics: frequency statistics and Bayesian statistics.Written in an accessible style, this book can be enjoyed by philosophers, statisticians and mathematicians, and also by anyone looking to expand their understanding of the disciplines of epistemology and probability.

Creating Modern Probability

Creating Modern Probability PDF Author: Jan von Plato
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521597357
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this book the author charts the history and development of modern probability theory.

Delaware Seminar in the Foundations of Physics

Delaware Seminar in the Foundations of Physics PDF Author: Mario Bunge
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642861024
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 204

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume collects the lectures on the foundations of physics given by eleven scientists at the University of Delaware. It is neither an anthology of disconnected items nor a smoothly running textbook but rather a progress report on a neglected yet vital area of basic physical research, namely foundations research. The investigation into the foundations of any branch of science is neither loose speculation nor popular science: it is an aspect of scientific research - in fact the deepest-searching part of basic research. Con sequently it must be carried out by the scientist himself. Thus whether the time concept is a numerical variable or a function, whether particle mechanics is the primary mechanical theory or a particular case of continuum mechanics, whether transformation formulas are laws of nature or links between equivalent descriptions, whether thermodynamics has been fully reduced to statistical mechanics, whether the field concept is dispensable, whether the covariance principle is a law or a regulative principle, whether quantum mechanics is completely detached from classical physics or contains fragments of it, whether it has annihilated the physical object or given a more complex picture of it, and to which extent are the field variables measurable - all these are technical questions demanding a careful analysis of pieces of recent basic research. Yet all of these problems and indeed all questions in foundational research are philosophical as well as scientific.