Jacob Rosenthal

Probabilities as Ratios of Ranges in Initial-State Spaces

A proposal for an objective interpretation of probability is introduced and discussed: probabilities as deriving from ranges in suitably structured initial-state spaces. Roughly, the probability of an event on a chance trial is the proportion of initial states that lead to the event in question within the space of all possible initial states associated with this type of experiment, provided that the proportion is approximately the same in any not too small subregion of the space. This I would like to call the “natural-range conception” of probability. Providing a substantial alternative to frequency or propensity accounts of probability in a deterministic setting, it is closely related to the so-called “method of arbitrary functions”. It is explicated, confronted with certain problems, and some ideas how these might be overcome are sketched and discussed.

On Lehrer’s Solution to the Gettier Problem

The classical analysis of the concept of knowledge is as follows. LetSbe an epistemic subject andpa proposition.Sknows that pif and only if (1) p is true, (2) S believes that p, and (3) S is justified in believing that p.

Experimental Philosophy Is Useful — But not in a Specific Way

In this contribution I try to tentatively assess the relevance of experimental philosophy for systematic philosophy. Imagine that some philosophical claim is debated. Pros and cons are exchanged, thought experiments brought forth; implications are asserted, disputed, and evaluated; specifications and distinctions introduced; etc. — and now the disputants receive information on how ordinary people assess certain scenarios associated with the claim. That is, they learn about ‘folk intuitions’ on the topic. (In rare cases they may also learn about behavioral data in the narrower sense, or about associated patterns of brain activity. But I will put this aside, as it raises different issues.) How should such findings affect the discussion? This is the question I am going to pursue here. The significance of experimental-philosophical results for philo-sophical debates could well depend on the debate in question, but as it happens, this is largely not the case — or so it seems to me. To my mind, a general diagnosis can be argued for.