Philosophical Theories of Probability (Philosophical Issues in Science)

"The twentieth century has seen a prodigious development of probability and statistics, and their increasing use in almost all fields of research. Despite their importance, these ideas tend to be scattered about the literature and not easily accessible." "Philosophical Theories of Probability is the first book to present a clear, comprehensive and systematic account of these various theories and to explain how they are related to one another. It deals with the classical, logical, subjective, frequency and propensity views of probability. The relation of the various interpretations to the Bayesian controversy, which has become central in both statistics and philosophy of science, is explained. Donald Gillies also offers some innovations of his own: a distinctive version of the propensity theory of probability, and the intersubjective interpretation, which develops the subjective theory. He argues for a pluralist view, where there can be more than one valid interpretation of probability, each appropriate in a different context." "This book will prove invaluable to all those interested in the philosophical views of probability and who wish to gain a clearer understanding of the theories and their relations."--Jacket.