Rational Decision and Causality

Description

First published in 1982, Ellery Eells' original work on rational decision making had extensive implications for probability theorists, economists, statisticians and psychologists concerned with decision making and the employment of Bayesian principles. His analysis of the philosophical and psychological significance of Bayesian decision theories, causal decision theories and Newcomb's paradox continues to be influential in philosophy of science. His book is now revived for a new generation of readers and presented in a fresh twenty-first-century series livery, including a specially commissioned preface written by Brian Skyrms, illuminating its continuing importance and relevance to philosophical enquiry. Professor Ellery Eells (1953–2006) was a leading philosopher of science, best known for his probabilistic theories of causation and his decision theory. He authored and edited several books, including Probability and Conditionals: Belief Revision and Rational Decision (with Brian Skyrms, Cambridge, 1994) and Probabilistic Causality (Cambridge, 1991). Cover Title page Contents Preface to this edition Preface Introduction 1. Bayesianism 2. The philosophical and psychological significance of Bayesian decision theory 3. Bayesian decision theories: some details 4. The counterexamples 5. Causal decision theories 6. Common causes, reasons and symptomatic acts 7. A general defense of PMCEU 8. Newcomb’s paradox Appendix 1 Logic Appendix 2 Probability Bibliography Index