Tuesday, 25 November 2003
What's Wrong with the Easy Route to the Definition of Subjective Probability?
Jason Grossman, University of Sydney, History and Philosophy of Science
12:05 pm, 817R Cathedral of Learning

Abstract: It is sometimes said (and often assumed) that the Dutch Book argument shows that the strength of a partial belief (a credence) can only be manipulated mathematically if it's represented by a Real number. This paper will present an argument to the contrary. I will describe some possibilities for representing credences in other ways and some of their philosophical consequences. One of these consequences will be a distinction between the vicious vagueness of credences and the common-or-garden vagueness of most other scientific predicates.