Pascal's Wager (eBook, PDF)

Redaktion: Bartha, Paul

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

In his famous Wager, Blaise Pascal (1623-62) offers the reader an argument that it is rational to strive to believe in God. Philosophical debates about this classic argument have continued until our own times. This volume provides a comprehensive examination of Pascal's Wager, including its theological framework, its place in the history of philosophy, and its importance to contemporary decision theory. The volume starts with a valuable primer on infinity and decision theory for students and non-specialists. A sequence of chapters then examines topics including the Wager's underlying theology, its influence on later philosophical figures, and contemporary analyses of the Wager including Alan Hajek's challenge to its validity, the many gods objection, and the ethics of belief. The final five chapters explore various ways in which the Wager has inspired contemporary decision theory, including questions related to infinite utility, imprecise probabilities, and infinitesimals.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Erscheinungstermin: 18. Oktober 2018
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781316859384
• Artikelnr.: 56549920

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction Paul Bartha and Lawrence Pasternack; Part I. Historical
Context and Influence: 1. Pascal's Wager and the origins of decision
theory: decision-making by real decision-makers James Franklin; 2. The
Wager and Pascal's theology William Wood; 3. Pascal's Wager and the ethics
for inquiry about God Paul Moser; 4. Pascal and his Wager in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries Adam Buben; 5. The Wager and William James Jeff
Jordan; Part II. Assessment: 6. The (in)validity of Pascal's Wager Alan
Hájek; 7. The many gods objection to Pascal's Wager: a defeat, then a
resurrection Craig Duncan; 8. The Wager as decision under ignorance:
decision-theoretic responses to the many gods objection Lawrence
Pasternack; 9. Rationality and the Wager Paul Saka; 10. The role of
Pascal's Wager in authentic religious commitment Joshua Golding; Part III.
Extensions: 11. The arbitrary prudentialism of Pascal's Wager and how to
overcome it by using game theory Elliott Sober; 12. Pascal's Wager and the
dynamics of rational deliberation Paul Bartha; 13. Infinity in Pascal's
Wager Graham Oppy; 14. Pascal's Wager and imprecise probability Susanna
Rinard; 15. Do infinitesimal probabilities neutralize the infinite utility
in Pascal's Wager? Sylvia Wenmackers.