Central and East European
Society for Phenomenology

Repository | Journal | Volume | Article

234599

Vague credence

Aidan Lyon

pp. 3931-3954

Abstract

It is natural to think of precise probabilities as being special cases of imprecise probabilities, the special case being when one’s lower and upper probabilities are equal. I argue, however, that it is better to think of the two models as representing two different aspects of our credences, which are often (if not always) vague to some degree. I show that by combining the two models into one model, and understanding that model as a model of vague credence, a natural interpretation arises that suggests a hypothesis concerning how we can improve the accuracy of aggregate credences. I present empirical results in support of this hypothesis. I also discuss how this modeling interpretation of imprecise probabilities bears upon a philosophical objection that has been raised against them, the so-called inductive learning problem.

Publication details

Published in:

Dietz Richard (2017) Vagueness and probability. Synthese 194 (10).

Pages: 3931-3954

DOI: 10.1007/s11229-015-0782-5

Full citation:

Lyon Aidan (2017) „Vague credence“. Synthese 194 (10), 3931–3954.