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Philosophy of Statistics

  • 1st Edition, Volume 7 - May 25, 2011
  • Latest edition
  • Editors: Prasanta S. Bandyopadhyay, Dov M. Gabbay, Paul Thagard, Malcolm R. Forster, John Woods
  • Language: English

Statisticians and philosophers of science have many common interests but restricted communication with each other. This volume aims to remedy these shortcomings. It provides st… Read more

Description

Statisticians and philosophers of science have many common interests but restricted communication with each other. This volume aims to remedy these shortcomings. It provides state-of-the-art research in the area of philosophy of statistics by encouraging numerous experts to communicate with one another without feeling “restricted” by their disciplines or thinking “piecemeal” in their treatment of issues.

A second goal of this book is to present work in the field without bias toward any particular statistical paradigm.

Broadly speaking, the essays in this Handbook are concerned with problems of induction, statistics and probability. For centuries, foundational problems like induction have been among philosophers’ favorite topics; recently, however, non-philosophers have increasingly taken a keen interest in these issues. This volume accordingly contains papers by both philosophers and non-philosophers, including scholars from nine academic disciplines.

Key features

  • Provides a bridge between philosophy and current scientific findings
  • Covers theory and applications
  • Encourages multi-disciplinary dialogue

Readership

Scholars and graduate students interested in how philosophy takes scientific findings into account

Table of contents

IntroductionPhilosophy of Statistics: An Introduction, by Prasanta S. Bandyopadhyay and Malcolm R. ForsterPart I. Probability & StatisticsElementary Probability and Statistics: A Primer, by Prasanta S. Bandyopadhyay and Steve CherryPart II. Philosophical Controversies about Conditional ProbabilityConditional Probability, by Alan HájekThe Varieties of Conditional Probability, by Kenny EaswaranPart III. Four Paradigms of StatisticsClassical Statistics Paradigm Error Statistics, by Deborah G. Mayo and Aris SpanosSignificance Testing, by Michael Dickson and Davis BairdBayesian ParadigmThe Bayesian Decision-Theoretic Approach to Statistics, by Paul WeirichModern Bayesian Inference: Foundations and Objective Methods, by José M. BernardoEvidential Probability and Objective Bayesian Epistemology, by Gregory Wheeler and Jon WilliamsonConfirmation Theory, by James HawthorneChallenges to Bayesian Confirmation Theory, by John D. NortonBayesianism as a Pure Logic of Inference, by Colin HowsonBayesian Inductive Logic, Verisimilitude, and Statistics, by Roberto FestaLikelihood ParadigmLikelihood and its Evidential Framework, by Jeffrey D. BlumeEvidence, Evidence Functions, and Error Probabilities, by Mark L. Taper and Subhash R. LeleAkaikean ParadigmAIC Scores as Evidence — a Bayesian Interpretation, by Malcolm Forster and Elliott SoberPart IV: The Likelihood PrincipleThe Likelihood Principle, by Jason GrossmanPart V: Recent Advances in Model SelectionAIC, BIC and Recent Advances in Model Selection, by Arijit Chakrabarti and Jayanta K. GhoshPosterior Model Probabilities, by A. Philip DawidPart VI: Attempts to Understand Different Aspects of “Randomness”Defining Randomness, by Deborah BennettMathematical Foundations of Randomness, by Abhijit DasguptaPart VII: Probabilistic and Statistical ParadoxesParadoxes of Probability, by Susan VinebergStatistical Paradoxes: Take It to The Limit, by C. Andy TsaoPart VIII: Statistics and Inductive InferenceStatistics as Inductive Inference, by Jan-Willem RomeijnPart IX: Various Issues about Causal InferenceCommon Cause in Causal Inference, by Peter SpirtesThe Logic and Philosophy of Causal Inference: A Statistical Perspective, by Sander GreenlandPart X: Some Philosophical Issues Concerning Statistical Learning TheoryStatistical Learning Theory as a Framework for the Philosophy of Induction, by Gilbert Harman and Sanjeev KulkarniTestability and Statistical Learning Theory, by Daniel SteelPart XI: Different Approaches to Simplicity Related to Inference and TruthLuckiness and Regret in Minimum Description Length Inference, by Steven de Rooij and Peter D. GrünwaldMML, Hybrid Bayesian Network Graphical Models, Statistical, by Consistency, Invariance and Uniqueness, by David L. DoweSimplicity, Truth and Probability, by Kevin T. KellyPart XII: Special Problems in Statistics/Computer ScienceNormal Approximations, by Robert J. BoikStein’s Phenomenon, by Richard Charnigo and Cidambi SrinivasanData, Data, Everywhere: Statistical Issues in Data Mining, by Choh Man TengPart XIII: An Application of Statistics to Climate ChangeAn Application of Statistics in Climate Change: Detection of Nonlinear Changes in a Streamflow Timing Measure in the Columbia and Missouri Headwaters, by Mark C. Greenwood, Joel Harper and Johnnie MoorePart XIV: Historical Approaches to Probability/StatisticsThe Subjective and the Objective, by Sandy L. ZabellProbability in Ancient India, by C. K. Raju

Product details

  • Edition: 1
  • Latest edition
  • Volume: 7
  • Published: July 13, 2011
  • Language: English

About the editors

DG

Dov M. Gabbay

Dov M. Gabbay is Augustus De Morgan Professor Emeritus of Logic at the Group of Logic, Language and Computation, Department of Computer Science, King's College London. He has authored over four hundred and fifty research papers and over thirty research monographs. He is editor of several international Journals, and many reference works and Handbooks of Logic.
Affiliations and expertise
Augustus De Morgan Professor Emeritus of Logic at the Group of Logic, Language and Computation, Department of Computer Science, King's College London.

PT

Paul Thagard

Affiliations and expertise
University of Waterloo, Canada

MF

Malcolm R. Forster

Affiliations and expertise
University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA

JW

John Woods

Affiliations and expertise
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

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