Mild contraction

Evaluating Loss of Information Due to Loss of Belief

Bibliographic Data

ID6551250
AuthorsIsaac Levi
Year2004
Pages245
Publication date2004-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueMild contraction (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherClarendon (PUBLISHER)
OpenAlexW2008955288
Open LibraryOL22588960M
ISBN9780199270705
LanguageEN
References cited26

Isaac Levi's new book develops further his pioneering work in formal epistemology, focusing on the problem of belief contraction, or how rationally to relinquish old beliefs. Levi offers the most penetrating analysis to date of this key question in epistemology, offering a completely new solution and explaining its relation to his earlier proposals. He mounts an argument in favour of the thesis that contracting a state of belief by giving up specific beliefs is to be evaluated in terms of the value of the information lost by doing so. The rationale aims to be thoroughly decision theoretic. Levi spells out his goals and shows that certain types of recommendations are obtained if one seeks to promote these goals; he also compares his approach to his earlier account of inductive expansion. The recommendations are for 'mild contractions'. These are formally the same as the 'severe withdrawals' considered by Pagnucco and Rott, but the rationale is different. A critical part of the book concerns the elaboration of these differences. The results are relevant to accounts of the conditions under which it is legitimate to cease believing, and to accounts of conditionals. [This book] will be of great interest to all specialists in belief revision theory and to many students of formal epistemology, philosophy of science, and pragmatism"--Bookjacket

Belief and doubt · Contraction (grammar) · Decision making · Information loss · Knowledge · Linguistics · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Economic theories and models · Mathematical and Theoretical Analysis · Philosophy · Psychology · Philosophers · Theory of knowledge

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