Gandalf’s solution to the Newcomb problem

Gandalf's solution to the Newcomb problem

In a recent article, Andy Egan (2007) has presented some compelling counterexamples to causal decision theory (CDT). In this article, I shall outline a new theory of rational decision. This theory is designed to stay as close as possible to CDT, while accommodating Egan’s intuitive counterexamples in a principled way. In recent philosophical debates, the most prominent rival to causal decision ...

Newcomb ’ s Problem

Newcomb’s problem is a decision puzzle whose difficulty and interest stem from the fact that the possible outcomes are probabilistically dependent on, yet causally independent of, the agent’s options. The problem is named for its inventor, the physicist William Newcomb, but first appeared in print in a 1969 paper by Robert Nozick [12]. Closely related to, though less well-known than, the Prison...

Newcomb ' s Problem

A Pragmatic Solution to the Value Problem of Knowledge

We value possessing knowledge more than true belief. Both someone with knowledge and someone with a true belief possess the correct answer to a question. Why is knowledge more valuable than true belief if both contain the correct answer? I examine the philosophy of American pragmatist John Dewey and then I offer a novel solution to this question often called the value problem of knowledge. I pr...

the problem of divine hiddenness

این رساله به مساله احتجاب الهی و مشکلات برهان مبتنی بر این مساله میپردازد. مساله احتجاب الهی مساله ای به قدمت ادیان است که به طور خاصی در مورد ادیان ابراهیمی اهمیت پیدا میکند. در ادیان ابراهیمی با توجه به تعالی خداوند و در عین حال خالقیت و حضور او و سخن گفتن و ارتباط شهودی او با بعضی از انسانهای ساکن زمین مساله ای پدید میاید با پرسشهایی از قبیل اینکه چرا ارتباط مستقیم ویا حداقل ارتباط وافی به ب...