Readings in Formal Epistemology

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxiii

   PDF

2. Agency and Interaction What We Are and What We Do in Formal Epistemology

   • Jeffrey Helzner, Vincent F. Hendricks

   Pages 1-11

3. Bayesian Epistemology

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 13-13

      PDF

   2. Introduction

      • Horacio Arló-Costa, Vincent F. Hendricks, Johan van Benthem

      Pages 15-19

   3. Truth and Probability

      • Frank P. Ramsey

      Pages 21-45

   4. Probable Knowledge

      • Richard C. Jeffrey

      Pages 47-65

   5. Fine-Grained Opinion, Probability, and the Logic of Full Belief

      • Bas C. van Fraassen

      Pages 67-89

   6. A Theory of Higher Order Probabilities

      • Haim Gaifman

      Pages 91-106

   7. On Indeterminate Probabilities

      • Isaac Levi

      Pages 107-129

   8. Why I am not a Bayesian

      • Clark Glymour

      Pages 131-151

   9. Discussion: A Mistake in Dynamic Coherence Arguments?

      • Brian Skyrms

      Pages 153-161

   10. Some Problems for Conditionalization and Reflection

       • Frank Arntzenius

       Pages 163-176

   11. Stopping to Reflect

       • Mark J. Schervish, Teddy Seidenfeld, Joseph B. Kadane

       Pages 177-185

4. Belief Change

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 187-187

      PDF

   2. Introduction

      • Horacio Arló-Costa, Vincent F. Hendricks, Johan van Benthem

      Pages 189-193

   3. On the Logic of Theory Change: Partial Meet Contraction and Revision Functions

      • Carlos E. Alchourrón, Peter Gärdenfors, David Makinson

      Pages 195-217

   4. Theory Contraction and Base Contraction Unified

      • Sven Ove Hansson

      Pages 219-245

   5. How Infallible but Corrigible Full Belief Is Possible

      • Isaac Levi

      Pages 247-267

   6. Belief Contraction in the Context of the General Theory of Rational Choice

      • Hans Rott

      Pages 269-302

   7. A Survey of Ranking Theory

      • Wolfgang Spohn

      Pages 303-347

This volume presents 38 classic texts in formal epistemology, and strengthens the ties between research into this area of philosophy and its neighbouring intellectual disciplines. The editors provide introductions to five subsections: Bayesian Epistemology, Belief Change, Decision Theory, Interactive Epistemology and Epistemic Logic.

'Formal epistemology' is a term coined in the late 1990s for a new constellation of interests in philosophy, the origins of which are found in earlier works of epistemologists, philosophers of science and logicians. It addresses a growing agenda of problems concerning knowledge, belief, certainty, rationality, deliberation, decision, strategy, action and agent interaction – and it does so using methods from logic, probability, computability, decision and game theory. The volume also includes a thorough index and suggestions for further reading, and thus offers a complete teaching and research package for students as well as research scholars of formal epistemology, philosophy, logic, computer science, theoretical economics and cognitive psychology.

• Ambiguity and the Bayesian paradigm
• Bayesian Epistemology
• Belief Contraction and General Theory of Rational Choice
• Epistemology without knowledge and without belief
• Introduction to Belief Change
• Introduction to Decision Theory
• Introduction to Interactive Epistemology
• Introduction to Logics of Knowledge and Belief
• Logic of theory change
• Probable knowledge
• Ranking Theory
• Substantive rationality and backward induction
• Truth and probability
• dynamic interactive belief revision
• logic of public announcements

“The book serves its purpose. The editors include an introductory chapter for each part, which makes the book worth reading. It is an interesting read for philosophers, historians … .” (Lalit Saxena, Computing Reviews, October 4, 2021)

“The editors perform a valuable service in collecting and organizing a set of essays that can provide the dedicated reader with a firm and comprehensive background in formal epistemology. … Readings in Formal Epistemology is a wonderful set of skillfully edited essays. Every graduate student and young researcher working in formal epistemology should read the essays in this volume.” (Conor Mayo-Wilson, Metascience, Vol. 26, 2017)

• (deceased), Dordrecht, The Netherlands

  Horacio Arló-Costa

• Center for Information and Bubble Studies, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

  Vincent F. Hendricks

• University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

  Johan van Benthem

The late Horacio Arló-Costa was Professor of Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania. Arló-Costa served as editor for the Review of Symbolic Logic, as area editor in epistemology for Synthese and as a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Philosophical Logic. Vincent F. Hendricks is Director of the Center for Information and Bubble Studies, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. His recent publications include Handbook of Formal Philosophy (2012), Epistemic Logic: 5 Questions (2010), Probability and Statistics: 5 Questions (2009), Mainstream and Formal Epistemology (2007) and The Convergence of Scientific Knowledge (2001). Johan van Benthem is University Professor emeritus of pure and applied logic at the University of Amsterdam, Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University and Distinguished Foreign Expert at Tsinghua University, Beijing. His recent publications include Logical Dynamics of Information and Interaction (2011), Modal Logic for Open Minds (2010), Exploring Logical Dynamics (1996) and Language in Action (1995). Van Benthem is co-editor, with Alice ter Meulen, of the Handbook of Logic and Language (1997).

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