A Philosophical Guide to Chance

Physical Probability

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences, Philosophy & Social Aspects, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy
Cover of the book A Philosophical Guide to Chance by Dr Toby Handfield, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Dr Toby Handfield ISBN: 9781107086784
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: April 5, 2012
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: Dr Toby Handfield
ISBN: 9781107086784
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: April 5, 2012
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

It is a commonplace that scientific inquiry makes extensive use of probabilities, many of which seem to be objective chances, describing features of reality that are independent of our minds. Such chances appear to have a number of paradoxical or puzzling features: they appear to be mind-independent facts, but they are intimately connected with rational psychology; they display a temporal asymmetry, but they are supposed to be grounded in physical laws that are time-symmetric; and chances are used to explain and predict frequencies of events, although they cannot be reduced to those frequencies. This book offers an accessible and non-technical introduction to these and other puzzles. Toby Handfield engages with traditional metaphysics and philosophy of science, drawing upon recent work in the foundations of quantum mechanics and thermodynamics to provide a novel account of objective probability that is empirically informed without requiring specialist scientific knowledge.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

It is a commonplace that scientific inquiry makes extensive use of probabilities, many of which seem to be objective chances, describing features of reality that are independent of our minds. Such chances appear to have a number of paradoxical or puzzling features: they appear to be mind-independent facts, but they are intimately connected with rational psychology; they display a temporal asymmetry, but they are supposed to be grounded in physical laws that are time-symmetric; and chances are used to explain and predict frequencies of events, although they cannot be reduced to those frequencies. This book offers an accessible and non-technical introduction to these and other puzzles. Toby Handfield engages with traditional metaphysics and philosophy of science, drawing upon recent work in the foundations of quantum mechanics and thermodynamics to provide a novel account of objective probability that is empirically informed without requiring specialist scientific knowledge.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book The Negotiable Constitution by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book Anatomy of Authoritarianism in the Arab Republics by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book Poseidon's Curse by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book The Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book Science in Medieval Jewish Cultures by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book Dental Anthropology by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book Scaling by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book Introducing Language and Cognition by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book Schopenhauer: On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason and Other Writings by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book Obstetric and Intrapartum Emergencies by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book U.S. Leadership, History, and Bilateral Relations in Northeast Asia by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Elgar by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book Sociology as a Population Science by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book The Creation of the Zulu Kingdom, 1815–1828 by Dr Toby Handfield
Cover of the book An Introduction to Classical Nahuatl by Dr Toby Handfield
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy