Skip to main content
Log in

Are theories of rationality empirically testable?

  • Published:
Synthese Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Since rationality is a normative ideal, it is difficult to see how a theory of rationality might be subjected to empirical evaluation. This paper explores various aspects of this problem in relation to the work of L. J. Cohen, Amos Tversky and Daviel Kahneman, Ellery Eells, Isaac Levi, and Henry Kyburg. Special consideration is given to its significance for testing systems of inductive logic.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Cohen, L. J.: 1981, ‘Can Human Irrationality be Experimentally Demonstrated?’, Behavioral and Brain Sciences 4, 317–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eells, E.: 1982, Rational Decision and Causality, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, N.: 1982, Fact, Fiction, and Forecast, 4th ed., Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeffrey, R. C.: 1983, The Logic of Decision, 2nd ed., University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D. and A. Tversky: 1982, ‘Evidential Impact of Base Rates’, in D. Kahneman, P. Slovic, and A. Tversky (eds.), Judgment Under Uncertainty, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kyburg, H. E.: 1961, Probability and the Logic of Rational Belief, Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, Connecticut.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levi, I.: 1980, The Enterprise of Knowledge, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levi, I.: 1984, Decisions and Revisions, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawls, J.: 1971, A Theory of Justice, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaefer, G.: 1976, A Mathematical Theory of Evidence, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Smokler, H. Are theories of rationality empirically testable?. Synthese 82, 297–306 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00413666

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00413666

Keywords

Navigation