http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
introduction to probability and inductive logic
xvii, 302 pages : illustrations ; 27 cm.
This is an introductory textbook on probability and induction written by one of the world's foremost philosophers of science. The book has been designed to offer maximal accessibility to the widest range of students (not only those majoring in philosophy) and assumes no formal training in elementary symbolic logic. It offers a comprehensive course covering all basic definitions of induction and probability, and considers such topics as decision theory, Bayesianism, frequency ideas and the philosophical problem of induction. The key features of this book are a lively and vigorous prose style, lucid and systematic organization and presentation of ideas, many practical applications, a rich supply of exercises drawing on examples from such fields as psychology, ecology, economics, bioethics, engineering and political science, numerous brief historical accounts of how fundamental ideas of probability and induction developed and a full bibliography of further reading.
Logic -- 1. Logic -- 2. What is inductive logic? -- How to calculate probabilities -- 3. The gambler's fallacy -- 4. Elementary probability ideas -- 5. Conditional probability -- 6. The basic rules of probability -- 7. Bayes' rule -- How to combine probabilities and utilities -- 8. Expected value -- 9. Maximizing expected value -- 10. Decision under uncertainty -- Kinds of probability -- 11. What do you mean? -- 12. Theories about probability -- Probability as a measure of belief -- 13. Personal probabilities -- 14. Coherence -- 15. Learning from experience -- Probability as frequency -- 16. Stability -- 17. Normal approximations -- 18. Significance and power -- 19. Confidence and inductive behavior -- Probability applied to philosophy -- 20. The philosophical problem of induction -- 21. Learning from experience as an evasion of the problem of induction -- 22. Inductive behavior as an evasion of the problem of induction.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-299) and index.