Chance in the world : a Humean guide to objective chance / Carl Hoefer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hoefer, Carl, author.

Series:

Oxford studies in philosophy of science.

Oxford studies in philosophy of science

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Probabilities.

Chance.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxiv, 257 pages).

Other Title:

Humean guide to objective chance

Place of Publication:

New York, New York : Oxford University Press, [2019]

Summary:

"This book argues that objective chance, or probability, should not be understood as a metaphysical primitive, nor as a dispositional property of certain systems (“propensity”). Given that traditional accounts of objective probability in terms of frequencies are widely agreed to be also untenable, there is a clear need for a new account that can overcome the problems of older views. A Humean, reductive analysis of objective chance is offered, one partially based on the work of David Lewis, but diverging from Lewis’ approach in many respects. It is shown that “Humean objective chances” (HOCs) can fulfill the role that chances are supposed to play of being a guide to one’s subjective expectations."-- Title details screen.

Contents:

1.Metaphysical Preliminaries

1.1.Humean Objective Chance (HOC): A First Sketch

1.2.The Humean Mosaic

1.3.The Dialectics of Primitive Chance

1.4.Chance as Hypothetical Infinite-Run Frequency: Propensities Made Respectable?

1.5.Summing Up

2.From Lewisian Chance to Humean Chance

2.1.Principal Principle (PP)

2.2.Time and Chance

2.3.Lewis's Best System Analysis (BSA) of Laws and Chance

2.4.Chance and Determinism

2.5.Chance and Credence

2.6.Summing Up

3.Humean Objective Chance

3.1.The Basic Features

3.2.Examples

3.3.The Best System of Chances

3.4.More about the Contents of the Best System

3.5.Summing Up

4.Deducing the Principal Principle

4.1.Deducing the Reasonableness of PP

4.2.PP and the Epistemology of HOC

4.3.Other Accounts and PP

4.4.Summing Up

5.Undermining

5.1.Undermining

What Is It?

5.2.Is the Contradiction Real?

5.3.The Lewis-Hall Solution

5.4.Independence for Humeans

5.5.The NP Solution Redeemed

5.6.Summing Up

6.Macro-Level and Micro-Level Chances

6.1.A Chance for All Setups?

6.2.Epistemology of Micro-Derived Chances

6.3.Micro-Derived Chances and PP

6.4.Summing Up

7.Humean Chance in Physics (coauthored with Roman Frigg)

7.1.Introduction

7.2.Classical Statistical Mechanics

7.3.Quantum Chances

7.4.Summing Up

8.Chance and Causation

8.1.A Reductive Relation?

8.2.Bob's Great Presentation

8.3.The Cause-Credence Principle

8.4.More on Causation

8.5.Summing Up.

Notes:

Description based on print version record and other sources.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-19-090744-4

0-19-090742-8

0-19-090743-6