Formal Epistemology and the New Paradigm Psychology of Reasoning

Niki Pfeifer; Igor Douven

doi:10.1007/s13164-013-0165-0

Review of Philosophy and Psychology

June 2014, Volume 5, Issue 2, pp 199–221

Formal Epistemology and the New Paradigm Psychology of Reasoning

Authors
Authors and affiliations

Niki PfeiferEmail author
Igor Douven

Article

First Online:: 26 September 2013

DOI: 10.1007/s13164-013-0165-0

Cite this article as:: Pfeifer, N. & Douven, I. Rev.Phil.Psych. (2014) 5: 199. doi:10.1007/s13164-013-0165-0

5 Citations

Abstract

This position paper advocates combining formal epistemology and the new paradigm psychology of reasoning in the studies of conditionals and reasoning with uncertainty. The new paradigm psychology of reasoning is characterized by the use of probability theory as a rationality framework instead of classical logic, used by more traditional approaches to the psychology of reasoning. This paper presents a new interdisciplinary research program which involves both formal and experimental work. To illustrate the program, the paper discusses recent work on the paradoxes of the material conditional, nonmonotonic reasoning, and Adams’ Thesis. It also identifies the issue of updating on conditionals as an area which seems to call for a combined formal and empirical approach.

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Authors and Affiliations

Niki Pfeifer
- 1
Email author
Igor Douven
- 2

1.Munich Center for Mathematical PhilosophyLMU MunichMunichGermany
2.Faculty of PhilosophyUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands

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