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Articles 1 - 6 of 6
Full-Text Articles in Philosophy
Bayesian Epistemology And Having Evidence, Jeffrey Dunn
Bayesian Epistemology And Having Evidence, Jeffrey Dunn
Open Access Dissertations
Bayesian Epistemology is a general framework for thinking about agents who have beliefs that come in degrees. Theories in this framework give accounts of rational belief and rational belief change, which share two key features: (i) rational belief states are represented with probability functions, and (ii) rational belief change results from the acquisition of evidence. This dissertation focuses specifically on the second feature. I pose the Evidence Question: What is it to have evidence? Before addressing this question we must have an understanding of Bayesian Epistemology. The first chapter argues that we should understand Bayesian Epistemology as giving us theories …
On Epistemic Agency, Kristoffer Hans Ahlstrom
On Epistemic Agency, Kristoffer Hans Ahlstrom
Open Access Dissertations
Every time we act in an effort to attain our epistemic goals, we express our epistemic agency. The present study argues that a proper understanding of the actions and goals relevant to expressions of such agency can be used to make ameliorative recommendations about how the ways in which we actually express our agency can be brought in line with how we should express our agency. More specifically, it is argued that the actions relevant to such expressions should be identified with the variety of actions characteristic of inquiry; that contrary to what has been maintained by recent pluralists about …
Sleeping Beauty And De Nunc Updating, Namjoong Kim
Sleeping Beauty And De Nunc Updating, Namjoong Kim
Open Access Dissertations
About a decade ago, Adam Elga introduced philosophers to an intriguing puzzle. In it, Sleeping Beauty, a perfectly rational agent, undergoes an experiment in which she becomes ignorant of what time it is. This situation is puzzling for two reasons: First, because there are two equally plausible views about how she will change her degree of belief given her situation and, second, because the traditional rules for updating degrees of belief don't seem to apply to this case. In this dissertation, my goals are to settle the debate concerning this puzzle and to offer a new rule for updating some …
Human Freedom In A World Full Of Providence: An Ockhamist-Molinist Account Of The Compatibility Of Divine Foreknowledge And Creaturely Free Will, Christopher J. Kosciuk
Human Freedom In A World Full Of Providence: An Ockhamist-Molinist Account Of The Compatibility Of Divine Foreknowledge And Creaturely Free Will, Christopher J. Kosciuk
Open Access Dissertations
I defend the compatibility of the classical theistic doctrine of divine providence, which includes infallible foreknowledge of all future events, with a libertarian understanding of creaturely free will. After setting out the argument for theological determinism, which purports to show the inconsistency of foreknowledge and freedom, I reject several responses as inadequate and then defend the ‚Ockhamist‛ response as successful. I further argue that the theory of middle knowledge or ‚Molinism‛ is crucial to the viability of the Ockhamist response, and proceed to defend Molinism against the most pressing objections. Finally, I argue that a proper understanding of the Creator-creature …
The Functions Of Russell’S No Class Theory, Kevin C. Klement
The Functions Of Russell’S No Class Theory, Kevin C. Klement
Kevin C. Klement
Certain commentators on Russell’s “no class” theory, in which apparent reference to classes or sets is eliminated using higher-order quantification, including W. V. Quine and (recently) Scott Soames, have doubted its success, noting the obscurity of Russell’s understanding of so-called “propositional functions.” These critics allege that realist readings of propositional functions fail to avoid commitment to classes or sets (or something equally problematic), and that nominalist readings fail to meet the demands placed on classes by mathematics. I show that Russell did thoroughly explore these issues, and had good reasons for rejecting accounts of propositional functions as extralinguistic entities. I …
The Senses Of Functions In The Logic Of Sense And Denotation, Kevin C. Klement
The Senses Of Functions In The Logic Of Sense And Denotation, Kevin C. Klement
Kevin C. Klement
This paper discusses certain problems arising within the treatment of the senses of functions in Alonzo Church's Logic of Sense and Denotation. Church understands such senses themselves to be “sense-functions,” functions from sense to sense. However, the conditions he lays out under which a sense-function is to be regarded as a sense presenting another function as denotation allow for certain undesirable results given certain unusual or “deviant” sense-functions. Certain absurdities result, e.g., an argument can be found for equating any two senses of the same type. An alternative treatment of the senses of functions is discussed, and is thought to …