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Evidential Probabilities and Credences
- Source :
- The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 74:1-23
- Publication Year :
- 2023
- Publisher :
- University of Chicago Press, 2023.
-
Abstract
- Enjoying great popularity in decision theory, epistemology, and philosophy of science, Bayesianism as understood here is fundamentally concerned with epistemically ideal rationality. It assumes a tight connection between evidential probability and ideally rational credence, and usually interprets evidential probability in terms of such credence. Timothy Williamson challenges Bayesianism by arguing that evidential probabilities cannot be adequately interpreted as the credences of an ideal agent. From this and his assumption that evidential probabilities cannot be interpreted as the actual credences of human agents either, he concludes that no interpretation of evidential probabilities in terms of credence is adequate. I argue to the contrary. My overarching aim is to show on behalf of Bayesians how one can still interpret evidential probabilities in terms of ideally rational credence and how one can maintain a tight connection between evidential probabilities and ideally rational credence even if the former cannot be interpreted in terms of the latter. By achieving this aim I illuminate the limits and prospects of Bayesianism.
- Subjects :
- History
Philosophy of science
Credence
Interpretation (philosophy)
Decision theory
05 social sciences
Probability and statistics
Rationality
06 humanities and the arts
0603 philosophy, ethics and religion
050105 experimental psychology
Ideal (ethics)
Epistemology
Philosophy
History and Philosophy of Science
060302 philosophy
Economics
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14643537 and 00070882
- Volume :
- 74
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........512baf38d8f28faab803503b82980cd7
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/axz043