Ebook: On Science, Inference, Information and Decision-Making: Selected Essays in the Philosophy of Science

There are two competing pictures of science. One considers science as a system of inferences, whereas another looks at science as a system of actions. The essays included in this collection offer a view which intends to combine both pictures. This compromise is well illustrated by Szaniawski's analysis of statistical inferences. It is shown that traditional approaches to the foundations of statistics do not need to be regarded as conflicting with each other. Thus, statistical rules can be treated as rules of behaviour as well as rules of inference. Szaniawski's uniform approach relies on the concept of rationality, analyzed from the point of view of decision theory. Applications of formal tools to the problem of justice and division of goods shows that the concept of rationality has a wider significance.
Audience: The book will be of interest to philosophers of science, logicians, ethicists and mathematicians.

---

There are two competing pictures of science. One considers science as a system of inferences, whereas another looks at science as a system of actions. The essays included in this collection offer a view which intends to combine both pictures. This compromise is well illustrated by Szaniawski's analysis of statistical inferences. It is shown that traditional approaches to the foundations of statistics do not need to be regarded as conflicting with each other. Thus, statistical rules can be treated as rules of behaviour as well as rules of inference. Szaniawski's uniform approach relies on the concept of rationality, analyzed from the point of view of decision theory. Applications of formal tools to the problem of justice and division of goods shows that the concept of rationality has a wider significance.
Audience: The book will be of interest to philosophers of science, logicians, ethicists and mathematicians.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiv
Some Remarks on the Philosophy of Science....Pages 1-7
Information and Decision-Making as Tools of Philosophy of Science....Pages 8-18
Method and Creativity in Science....Pages 19-27
Sociology and Models of Rational Behaviour....Pages 28-39
Mathematical Models and Social Facts....Pages 40-44
Science as a Search for Information....Pages 45-53
Inference or Behaviour?....Pages 54-61
A Note on Confirmation of Statistical Hypotheses....Pages 62-69
On Some Basic Patterns of Statistical Inference....Pages 70-79
A Method of Deciding between N Statistical Hypotheses....Pages 80-86
A Pragmatic Justification of Rules of Statistical Inference....Pages 87-95
On Sequential Inference....Pages 96-105
Interpretations of the Maximum Likelihood Principle....Pages 106-113
Some Remarks Concerning the Criterion of Rational Decision-Making....Pages 114-127
The Concept of Distribution of Goods....Pages 128-139
The Value of Perfect Information....Pages 140-153
Questions and their Pragmatic Value....Pages 154-156
Two Concepts of Information....Pages 157-166
Types of Information and their Role in the Methodology of Science....Pages 167-176
Information in Decision-Making Some Logical Aspects....Pages 177-190
Decision-Making and Future Research Some Theoretical Problems....Pages 191-199
On Formal Aspects of Distributive Justice....Pages 200-209
Philosophy and Decision-Making....Pages 210-221
The Concept of Unreliable Information....Pages 222-225
On Defining Information....Pages 226-231
Rationality as A Value....Pages 232-240
Back Matter....Pages 241-242

---

There are two competing pictures of science. One considers science as a system of inferences, whereas another looks at science as a system of actions. The essays included in this collection offer a view which intends to combine both pictures. This compromise is well illustrated by Szaniawski's analysis of statistical inferences. It is shown that traditional approaches to the foundations of statistics do not need to be regarded as conflicting with each other. Thus, statistical rules can be treated as rules of behaviour as well as rules of inference. Szaniawski's uniform approach relies on the concept of rationality, analyzed from the point of view of decision theory. Applications of formal tools to the problem of justice and division of goods shows that the concept of rationality has a wider significance.
Audience: The book will be of interest to philosophers of science, logicians, ethicists and mathematicians.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiv
Some Remarks on the Philosophy of Science....Pages 1-7
Information and Decision-Making as Tools of Philosophy of Science....Pages 8-18
Method and Creativity in Science....Pages 19-27
Sociology and Models of Rational Behaviour....Pages 28-39
Mathematical Models and Social Facts....Pages 40-44
Science as a Search for Information....Pages 45-53
Inference or Behaviour?....Pages 54-61
A Note on Confirmation of Statistical Hypotheses....Pages 62-69
On Some Basic Patterns of Statistical Inference....Pages 70-79
A Method of Deciding between N Statistical Hypotheses....Pages 80-86
A Pragmatic Justification of Rules of Statistical Inference....Pages 87-95
On Sequential Inference....Pages 96-105
Interpretations of the Maximum Likelihood Principle....Pages 106-113
Some Remarks Concerning the Criterion of Rational Decision-Making....Pages 114-127
The Concept of Distribution of Goods....Pages 128-139
The Value of Perfect Information....Pages 140-153
Questions and their Pragmatic Value....Pages 154-156
Two Concepts of Information....Pages 157-166
Types of Information and their Role in the Methodology of Science....Pages 167-176
Information in Decision-Making Some Logical Aspects....Pages 177-190
Decision-Making and Future Research Some Theoretical Problems....Pages 191-199
On Formal Aspects of Distributive Justice....Pages 200-209
Philosophy and Decision-Making....Pages 210-221
The Concept of Unreliable Information....Pages 222-225
On Defining Information....Pages 226-231
Rationality as A Value....Pages 232-240
Back Matter....Pages 241-242
....