Probability and causality. Essays in honor of Wesley C. Salmon. With an annotated bibliography by Wesley C. Salmon
[The articles of this volume will not be indexed individually]. This is a volume of essays in honor of Wesley Salmon. It contains an up- to-date (1988) bibliography of Salmon's works, as well as a long introductory essay by Salmon himself (``Dynamic rationality: Propensity, probability, credence''). The papers are divided into two groups: one concerns probability, causality, and modality, the other concerns probability, causality, and decision. The authors are William Morris, Agner Shimony, Ilkka Niiniluoto, James Fetzer, Wayne Davis, Brian Skyrms, Nancy Cartwright, Ellerly Eells, Elliott Sober, D. H. Mellor, Richard Jeffrey, and Paul Humphreys. The most interesting essay is Salmon's own, in which he explores the relation between personal probabilities, and frequencies and propensities. The latter are, Salmon argues, fundamental; rational degrees of conviction should conform to estimates of frequencies and propensities. The bibliography, annotated by Salmon to give the circumstances underlying each main item, is fascinating.
scientific article; zbMATH DE number 54278