indifference, principle of

indifference, principle of
The principle named (but rejected) by Keynes, whereby if there is no known reason for asserting one rather than another out of several alternatives, then relative to our knowledge they have an equal probability. Without restriction the principle leads to contradiction. For example, if we know nothing about the nationality of a person, we might argue that the probability is equal that she comes from England or France, and equal that she comes from Scotland or France, and equal that she comes from Britain or France. But from the first two assertions the probability that she belongs to Britain must be at least double the probability that she belongs to France. See also Bertrand's paradox.

Philosophy dictionary. . 2011.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • principle of indifference — indifference, principle of …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Principle of maximum entropy — This article is about the probability theoretic principle. For the classifier in machine learning, see maximum entropy classifier. For other uses, see maximum entropy (disambiguation). Bayesian statistics Theory Bayesian probability Probability… …   Wikipedia

  • principle of insufficient reason — See indifference, principle of …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Principle of material objectivity — is an obsolete term and should be replaced by principle of material frame indifference. ( I was responsible for introducing the obsolete term in 1958 and now regret that I misled a lot of people , Walter Noll). Here is a precise statement of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Principle of indifference — The principle of indifference (also called principle of insufficient reason) is a rule for assigning epistemic probabilities.Suppose that there are n gt; 1 mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive possibilities.The principle of indifference …   Wikipedia

  • indifference — /in dif euhr euhns, dif reuhns/, n. 1. lack of interest or concern: We were shocked by their indifference toward poverty. 2. unimportance; little or no concern: Whether or not to attend the party is a matter of indifference to him. 3. the quality …   Universalium

  • insufficient reason, principle of — See indifference, principle of …   Philosophy dictionary

  • reason, principle of insufficient — See indifference, principle of …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Ionians (The) — The Ionians Malcolm Schofield THALES AND OTHERS The Greeks agreed that philosophy had begun with Thales. However they did not know much about his views.1 What survives is mostly a potent legend. Herodotus tells stories of his practical ingenuity …   History of philosophy

  • Doomsday argument — World population from 10,000 BC to AD 2000 The Doomsday argument (DA) is a probabilistic argument that claims to predict the number of future members of the human species given only an estimate of the total number of humans born so far. Simply… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”