The Laws of Belief: Ranking Theory and Its Philosophical Applications

Spohn, Wolfgang

ISBN 10: 0199697507 / ISBN 13: 9780199697502

Published by Oxford University Press, 2012

About this Item

NO DUST JACKET. Used with discoloratino and edgewear to cover , discoloration to text block, folding to pages throughout, and markings throughout.

Seller Inventory # mon0000703482

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Laws of Belief: Ranking Theory and Its Philosophical Applications
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0199697507
• ISBN 13: 9780199697502
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

Wolfgang Spohn presents the first full account of the dynamic laws of belief, by means of ranking theory. This book is his long-awaited presentation of ranking theory and its ramifications. He motivates and introduces the basic notion of a ranking function, which recognises degrees of belief and at the same time accounts for belief simpliciter. He provides a measurement theory for ranking functions, accounts for auto-epistemology in ranking-theoretic terms, and explicates the basic notion of a (deductive or non-deductive) reason. The rich philosophical applications of Spohn's theory include: a new account of lawlikeness, an account of ceteris paribus laws, a new perspective on dispositions, a rich and detailed theory of deterministic causation, an understanding of natural modalities as an objectification of epistemic modalities, an account of the experiential basis of belief--and thus a restructuring of the debate on foundationalism and coherentism (and externalism and contextualism)--and, finally, a revival of fundamental a priori principles of reason fathoming the basics of empiricism and the relation between reason and truth, and concluding in a proof of a weak principle of causality. All this is accompanied by thorough comparative discussions, on a general level as well as within each topic, and in particular with respect to probability theory.

About the Author

Wolfgang Spohn studied philosophy, logic/philosophy of science, and mathematics at the University of Munich. He has held positions at the University of Regensburg (1986-91) and the University of Bielefeld (1991-96), and has held a chair in philosophy and philosophy of science at the University of Konstanz since 1996. He is author of three books and over eighty papers, and editor of the journal Erkenntnis.