PP-1999-05: Coherence and Conservation in the Dynamics of Belief, Part I: Finding the Right Framework

PP-1999-05: Rott, Hans (1999) Coherence and Conservation in the Dynamics of Belief, Part I: Finding the Right Framework. [Report]

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Abstract

Coherence and Conservatism in the Dynamics of Belief
PartI: Finding the right framework
Hans Rott

In this paper I discuss the foundations of a formal theory of coherent and
conservative belief change that is (a) suitable to be used as a method for
constructing iterated changes of belief, (b) sensitive to the history of
earlier belief changes, and (c) independent of any form of dispositional
coherence. I review various ways to conceive the relationship between the
beliefs actually held by an agent and her belief change strategies (that also
deal with potential belief sets), show the problems they suffer from, and
suggest that belief states should be represented by unary revision functions
that take sequences of inputs. Three concepts of coherence implicit in
current theories of belief change are distinguished: synchronic, diachronic
and dispositional coherence. Diachronic coherence is essentially identified
with what is known as conservatism in epistemology. The present paper
elaborates on the philosophical motivation of the general framework; formal
details and results are provided in a companion paper.

Item Type:	Report
Report Nr:	PP-1999-05
Series Name:	Prepublication (PP) Series
Year:	1999
Date Deposited:	12 Oct 2016 14:36
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2016 14:36
URI:	https://eprints.illc.uva.nl/id/eprint/5

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