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David Makinson on Classical Methods for Non-Classical Problems. Series: Outstanding Contributions to Logic (edited book)Springer. 2014.
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The Rise and Fall of the Anti-Mathematical MovementIn Sven Ove Hansson (ed.), Technology and Mathematics: Philosophical and Historical Investigations, Springer Verlag. 2018.
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Mathematics and Technology Before the Modern EraIn Sven Ove Hansson (ed.), Technology and Mathematics: Philosophical and Historical Investigations, Springer Verlag. 2018.
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Evaluating the UncertaintiesIn Gertrude Hirsch Hadorn & Sven Hansson (eds.), The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis: Reasoning About Uncertainty, Springer Verlag. 2016.
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Introducing the Argumentative Turn in Policy AnalysisIn Gertrude Hirsch Hadorn & Sven Hansson (eds.), The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis: Reasoning About Uncertainty, Springer Verlag. 2016.
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PreviewIn Gertrude Hirsch Hadorn & Sven Hansson (eds.), The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis: Reasoning About Uncertainty, Springer Verlag. 2016.
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21The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis: Reasoning About Uncertainty (edited book)Springer Verlag. 2016.This book describes argumentative tools and strategies that can be used to guide policy decisions under conditions of great uncertainty. Contributing authors explore methods from philosophical analysis and in particular argumentation analysis, showing how it can be used to systematize discussions about policy issues involving great uncertainty. The first part of the work explores how to deal in a systematic way with decision-making when there may be plural perspectives on the decision problem, …Read more
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28Descriptor Revision: Belief Change Through Direct ChoiceSpringer Verlag. 2017.This book provides a critical examination of how the choice of what to believe is represented in the standard model of belief change. In particular the use of possible worlds and infinite remainders as objects of choice is critically examined. Descriptors are introduced as a versatile tool for expressing the success conditions of belief change, addressing both local and global descriptor revision. The book presents dynamic descriptors such as Ramsey descriptors that convey how an agent’s beliefs…Read more
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1Technology and Mathematics: Philosophical and Historical Investigations (edited book)Springer Verlag. 2018.This volume is the first extensive study of the historical and philosophical connections between technology and mathematics. Coverage includes the use of mathematics in ancient as well as modern technology, devices and machines for computation, cryptology, mathematics in technological education, the epistemology of computer-mediated proofs, and the relationship between technological and mathematical computability. The book also examines the work of such historical figures as Gottfried Wilhelm Le…Read more
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33From the casino to the jungle: Dealing with uncertainty in technological risk managementSynthese 168 (3): 423-432. 2009.Clear-cut cases of decision-making under risk (known probabilities) are unusual in real life. The gambler’s decisions at the roulette table are as close as we can get to this type of decision-making. In contrast, decision-making under uncertainty (unknown probabilities) can be exemplified by a decision whether to enter a jungle that may contain unknown dangers. Life is usually more like an expedition into an unknown jungle than a visit to the casino. Nevertheless, it is common in decision-suppor…Read more
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132Weighing Risks and BenefitsTopoi 23 (2): 145-152. 2004.It is almost universally acknowledged that risks have to be weighed against benefits, but there are different ways to perform the weighing. In conventional risk analysis, collectivist risk-weighing is the standard. This means that an option is accepted if the sum of all individual benefits outweighs the sum of all individual risks. In practices originating in clinical medicine, such as ethical appraisals of clinical trials, individualist risk-weighing is the standard. This implies a much stricte…Read more
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79European Public Deliberation on Brain Machine Interface Technology: Five Convergence Seminars (review)Science and Engineering Ethics 19 (3): 1071-1086. 2013.We present a novel procedure to engage the public in ethical deliberations on the potential impacts of brain machine interface technology. We call this procedure a convergence seminar, a form of scenario-based group discussion that is founded on the idea of hypothetical retrospection. The theoretical background of this procedure and the results of five seminars are presented.
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24Beyond recovery? A reply to TennantErkenntnis 49 (3): 387-392. 1998.In his paper ‘Changing the Theory of Theory Change: Reply to My Critics’, N. Tennant (1997b) reacts to the critical reception of an earlier article of his. The present note rectifies some of the most serious misrepresentations in Tennant's reply.
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5Efficient InspectionsIn Ola Svensson, Illka Salo, Pia Oedewald, Teemu Reiman & Ann Britt Skjerve (eds.), Nordic Perspectives on Safety Management in High Reliability Organizations: Theory and Applications, Nks Secretariat. pp. 9-19. 2015.Workplace inspections are undertaken because they are believed to lead to better conditions In the workplace. It is therefore essential to know if inspections have the desired effects on working conditions. We introduce a theoretical framework for the evaluation of workplace inspections with respect to their effects on working conditions. Criteria of efficiency and priority-setting are discussed. Some empirical results concerning priority-setting in Swedish inspection agencies are presented. Fur…Read more
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31Self‐Defeating GoalsDialectica 70 (4): 491-512. 2016.The typical function of goals is to regulate action in a way that furthers goal achievement. Goals are typically set on the assumption that they will help bring the agent closer to the desired state of affairs. However, sometimes endorsement of a goal, or the processes by which the goal is set, can obstruct its achievement. When this happens, the goal is self-defeating. Self-defeating goals are common in both private and social decision-making but have not received much attention by decision the…Read more
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4Credibility Limited RevisionJournal of Symbolic Logic 66 (4): 1581-1596. 2001.Five types of constructions are introduced for non-prioritized belief revision, i.e., belief revision in which the input sentence is not always accepted. These constructions include generalizations of entrenchment-based and sphere-based revision. Axiomatic characterizations are provided, and close interconnections are shown to hold between the different constructions.
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64Credibility limited revisionJournal of Symbolic Logic 66 (4): 1581-1596. 2001.Five types of constructions are introduced for non-prioritized belief revision, i.e., belief revision in which the input sentence is not always accepted. These constructions include generalizations of entrenchment-based and sphere-based revision. Axiomatic characterizations are provided, and close interconnections are shown to hold between the different constructions
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122A Theoria Round Table on Philosophy PublishingTheoria 77 (2): 104-116. 2011.As part of the conference commemorating Theoria's 75th anniversary, a round table discussion on philosophy publishing was held in Bergendal, Sollentuna, Sweden, on 1 October 2010. Bengt Hansson was the chair, and the other participants were eight editors-in-chief of philosophy journals: Hans van Ditmarsch (Journal of Philosophical Logic), Pascal Engel (Dialectica), Sven Ove Hansson (Theoria), Vincent Hendricks (Synthese), Søren Holm (Journal of Medical Ethics), Pauline Jacobson (Linguistics and …Read more
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19A Theoria Round Table on Philosophy PublishingTheoria 77 (2): 104-116. 2011.As part of the conference commemorating Theoria's 75th anniversary, a round table discussion on philosophy publishing was held in Bergendal, Sollentuna, Sweden, on 1 October 2010. Bengt Hansson was the chair, and the other participants were eight editors‐in‐chief of philosophy journals: Hans van Ditmarsch (Journal of Philosophical Logic), Pascal Engel (Dialectica), Sven Ove Hansson (Theoria), Vincent Hendricks (Synthese), Søren Holm (Journal of Medical Ethics), Pauline Jacobson (Linguistics and …Read more
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132A survey of multiple contractionsJournal of Logic, Language and Information 3 (1): 39-75. 1994.The AGM theory of belief contraction is extended tomultiple contraction, i.e. to contraction by a set of sentences rather than by a single sentence. There are two major variants: Inpackage contraction all the sentences must be removed from the belief set, whereas inchoice contraction it is sufficient that at least one of them is removed. Constructions of both types of multiple contraction are offered and axiomatically characterized. Neither package nor choice contraction can in general be reduce…Read more
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20Back to Basics: Belief Revision Through Direct SelectionStudia Logica 107 (5): 887-915. 2019.Traditionally, belief change is modelled as the construction of a belief set that satisfies a success condition. The success condition is usually that a specified sentence should be believed or not believed. Furthermore, most models of belief change employ a select-and-intersect strategy. This means that a selection is made among primary objects that satisfy the success condition, and the intersection of the selected objects is taken as outcome of the operation. However, the select-and-intersect…Read more
Areas of Specialization
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Areas of Interest
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