Bovens, Luc (Author)
Fitelson, Branden (Author)
Hartmann, Stephan (Author)
Snyder, Josh (Author)
In 'Corroborating Testimony, Probability and Surprise', Erik J. Olsson ascribes to L. Jonathan Cohen the claims that if two witnesses provide us with the same information, then the less probable the information is, the more confident we may be that the information is true (C), and the stronger the information is corroborated (C*). We question whether Cohen intends anything like claims (C) and (C*). Furthermore, he discusses the concurrence of witness reports within a context of independent witnesses, whereas the witnesses in Olsson's model are not independent in the standard sense. We argue that there is much more than, in Olsson's words, 'a grain of truth' to claim (C), both on his own characterization as well as on Cohen's characterization of the witnesses. We present an analysis for independent witnesses in the contexts of decision-making under risk and decision-making under uncertainty and generalize the model for n witnesses. As to claim (C*), Olsson's argument is contingent on the choice of a particular measure of corroboration and is not robust in the face of alternative measures. Finally, we delimit the set of cases to which Olsson's model is applicable.
...MoreDescription With reply by Olsson:
Article Olsson, Erik J. (2002) Corroborating Testimony and Ignorance: A Reply to Bovens, Fitelson, Hartmann and Snyder. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (p. 565).
Article
Hansson, Sven Ove;
(2006)
Falsificationism Falsified
(/isis/citation/CBB000830365/)
Book
Nicola Berardi;
(2014)
La rivoluzione copernicana di Popper: tematiche e questioni epistemologiche
(/isis/citation/CBB384725954/)
Book
Taper, Mark L.;
Lele, Subhash R.;
(2004)
The Nature of Scientific Evidence: Statistical, Philosophical, and Empirical Considerations
(/isis/citation/CBB000750947/)
Chapter
Gierl, Martin;
(2001)
The Triumph of Truth and Innocence: The Rules & Practice of Theological Polemics
(/isis/citation/CBB000101480/)
Article
Daniel J. Hicks;
(2015)
Epistemological depth in a GM crops controversy
(/isis/citation/CBB463708947/)
Book
George E. Smith;
Raghav Seth;
(2020)
Brownian Motion and Molecular Reality
(/isis/citation/CBB800777900/)
Book
Lehrich, Christopher I.;
(2007)
The Occult Mind: Magic in Theory and Practice
(/isis/citation/CBB000774186/)
Book
Leonardo Ambasciano;
D. Jason Slone;
Donald Wiebe;
Luther H. Martin;
Radek Kundt;
William W. McCorkle Jr;
(2018)
An Unnatural History of Religions: Academia, Post-truth and the Quest for Scientific Knowledge
(/isis/citation/CBB840908594/)
Book
Elliott Sober;
(2015)
Ockham's Razors: A User's Manual
(/isis/citation/CBB056518949/)
Article
Galavotti, Maria Carla;
(2003)
Harold Jeffreys' Probabilistic Epistemology: Between Logicism and Subjectivism
(/isis/citation/CBB000410716/)
Book
Alexander R. Pruss;
(2018)
Infinity, Causation, and Paradox
(/isis/citation/CBB729390298/)
Chapter
Maria Carla Galavotti;
(2023)
Realismo/antirealismo e teoria delle probabilità
(/isis/citation/CBB587867017/)
Book
Hammond, Nicholas;
(2003)
The Cambridge Companion to Pascal
(/isis/citation/CBB000651568/)
Book
Sarah Ehlers;
Stefan Esselborn;
(2022)
Evidence in Action between Science and Society: Constructing, Validating, and Contesting Knowledge
(/isis/citation/CBB104485678/)
Book
Geoffrey Belknap;
(2016)
From a Photograph: Authenticity, Science and the Periodical Press, 1870-1890
(/isis/citation/CBB118343256/)
Book
Massimiliano Badino;
Gerardo Ienna;
Pietro Daniel Omodeo;
(2022)
Epistemologia storica: Correnti, temi e problemi
(/isis/citation/CBB773894451/)
Article
Renaud Debailly;
(2023)
Challenging science's autonomy: the "critique des sciences" in France
(/isis/citation/CBB400034433/)
Book
Bayertz, Kurt;
Gerhard, Myriam;
Jaeschke, Walter;
(2007)
Weltanschauung, Philosophie und Naturwissenschaft im 19. Jahrhundert
(/isis/citation/CBB001022110/)
Article
Fontes da Costa, Palmira;
(2002)
The Making of Extraordinary Facts: Authentication of Singularities of Nature at the Royal Society of London in the First Half of the Eighteenth Century
(/isis/citation/CBB000202870/)
Article
Fitelson, Branden;
(2012)
Accuracy, Language Dependence, and Joyce's Argument for Probabilism
(/isis/citation/CBB001210578/)
Be the first to comment!