Conditionals as Random Variables
Research seminar – Philosophy
Lecture by: Richard Bradley (Professor of Philosophy, LSE)
When?
Date: 18 March 2010
Time: 14:00
Where?
Room: N212 (the Boardroom), de Havilland Campus, University of Hertfordshire
Who can attend?
The research seminar is open to all: staff, students and members of the public. However, a professional competence in the subject is assumed.
Abstract
By Richard Bradley
This talk will explore the view that conditionals are proposition-valued random variables, building on earlier papers of Jeffrey and Stalnaker and McGee in which views of this kind are floated.
This view, I argue, implies that there are two distinct kinds of uncertainty associated with a conditional:
- uncertainty about the world in which it is being evaluated
- uncertainty about its semantic value at that world
The dual uncertainties and the manner in which they articulate provide an explanation of both why and when Adams' Thesis holds.
More information
Please contact Professor Luciano Floridi for further information about the seminar.
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