Brian Ball
Biographic Data
| ID | 989167 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Brian Ball |
| GIVEN NAMES | Brian |
| FAMILY NAME | Ball |
| SIGNATURE | BALL B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Northeastern University London |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2478-6151 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 31 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 9 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1984 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Computational philosophy
In this paper, we situate our computational approach to philosophy relative to other digital humanities and computational social science practices, based on reflections stemming from our research on the PolyGraphs project in social epistemology. We begin by describing PolyGraphs. An interdisciplinary project funded by the Academies (BA, RS, and RAEng) and the Leverhulme Trust, it uses philosophical simulations (Mayo-Wilson and Zollman, 2021) to s…
Misinformation and higher-order evidence
This paper uses computational methods to simultaneously investigate the epistemological effects of misinformation on communities of rational agents, while also contributing to the philosophical debate on ‘higher-order’ evidence (i.e. evidence that bears on the quality and/or import of one’s evidence). Modelling communities as networks of individuals, each with a degree of belief in a given target proposition, it simulates the introduction of unre…
Training philosopher engineers for better AI
The Act and Object of Judgment
The Cartesian first-person point of view regarding the certainty of our judgements seems to imply a form of subjectivism.Locke's solution to this problem is to widen the scope to a third-person point of view on the notion of judgement, thereby shaping the modern notion of belief.As a result the distinction between the normative notion of judgement and the empirical notion of belief are no longer distinguished, and epistemology and philosophy in g…
Act and Object of Judgment
Act and Object of Judgment
Commitment and Obligation in Speech Act Theory
This paper aims to illuminate the notions of commitment and obligation, as well as their explanatory role, in the theory of speech acts. I begin () by arguing in support of the view that assertion involves a commitment to the truth; and, building on Williamson’s () account of this act, I suggest that we can understand such commitment in terms of an obligation to ensure. I then argue () that this foundationalist account of the commitment involved …
Counter Closure and Knowledge Despite Falsehood
Certain puzzling cases have been discussed in the literature recently which appear to support the thought that knowledge can be obtained by way of deduction from a falsehood; moreover, these cases put pressure, prima facie, on the thesis of counter closure for knowledge. We argue that the cases do not involve knowledge from falsehood; despite appearances, the false beliefs in the cases in question are causally, and therefore epistemologically, in…
Friendship networks and social status
In empirical studies of friendship networks, participants are typically asked, in interviews or questionnaires, to identify some or all of their close friends, resulting in a directed network in which friendships can, and often do, run in only one direction between a pair of individuals. Here we analyze a large collection of such networks representing friendships among students at US high and junior-high schools and show that the pattern of unrec…
Fred. E. Weatherly
Friendship networks and social status
In empirical studies of friendship networks, participants are typically asked, in interviews or questionnaires, to identify some or all of their close friends, resulting in a directed network in which friendships can, and often do, run in only one direction between a pair of individuals. Here we analyze a large collection of such networks representing friendships among students at US high and junior-high schools and show that the pattern of unrec…
Counter Closure and Knowledge Despite Falsehood
Certain puzzling cases have been discussed in the literature recently which appear to support the thought that knowledge can be obtained by way of deduction from a falsehood; moreover, these cases put pressure, prima facie, on the thesis of counter closure for knowledge. We argue that the cases do not involve knowledge from falsehood; despite appearances, the false beliefs in the cases in question are causally, and therefore epistemologically, in…
Fred. E. Weatherly
Friendship networks and social status
In empirical studies of friendship networks, participants are typically asked, in interviews or questionnaires, to identify some or all of their close friends, resulting in a directed network in which friendships can, and often do, run in only one direction between a pair of individuals. Here we analyze a large collection of such networks representing friendships among students at US high and junior-high schools and show that the pattern of unrec…
Counter Closure and Knowledge Despite Falsehood
Certain puzzling cases have been discussed in the literature recently which appear to support the thought that knowledge can be obtained by way of deduction from a falsehood; moreover, these cases put pressure, prima facie, on the thesis of counter closure for knowledge. We argue that the cases do not involve knowledge from falsehood; despite appearances, the false beliefs in the cases in question are causally, and therefore epistemologically, in…
Commitment and Obligation in Speech Act Theory
This paper aims to illuminate the notions of commitment and obligation, as well as their explanatory role, in the theory of speech acts. I begin () by arguing in support of the view that assertion involves a commitment to the truth; and, building on Williamson’s () account of this act, I suggest that we can understand such commitment in terms of an obligation to ensure. I then argue () that this foundationalist account of the commitment involved …
The Act and Object of Judgment
The Cartesian first-person point of view regarding the certainty of our judgements seems to imply a form of subjectivism.Locke's solution to this problem is to widen the scope to a third-person point of view on the notion of judgement, thereby shaping the modern notion of belief.As a result the distinction between the normative notion of judgement and the empirical notion of belief are no longer distinguished, and epistemology and philosophy in g…
Act and Object of Judgment
Act and Object of Judgment
Training philosopher engineers for better AI
Computational philosophy
In this paper, we situate our computational approach to philosophy relative to other digital humanities and computational social science practices, based on reflections stemming from our research on the PolyGraphs project in social epistemology. We begin by describing PolyGraphs. An interdisciplinary project funded by the Academies (BA, RS, and RAEng) and the Leverhulme Trust, it uses philosophical simulations (Mayo-Wilson and Zollman, 2021) to s…
Misinformation and higher-order evidence
This paper uses computational methods to simultaneously investigate the epistemological effects of misinformation on communities of rational agents, while also contributing to the philosophical debate on ‘higher-order’ evidence (i.e. evidence that bears on the quality and/or import of one’s evidence). Modelling communities as networks of individuals, each with a degree of belief in a given target proposition, it simulates the introduction of unre…
Computer Science (6 works) · Psychology (4 works) · Epistemology (3 works) · Philosophy (3 works) · Act (philosophy) (2 works) · Action (Philosophie) (2 works) · Artificial Intelligence (2 works) · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics (2 works) · General (2 works) · History & Surveys (2 works)