The Objects of Probabilities. Probabilities impact almost every aspect of our lives. Actuaries calculate probabilities of property loss due to bushfires, while climatologists warn that such probabilities will increase alarmingly. Probabilities abound in engineering, medicine, the law, the sciences and social sciences, and much philosophy. Yet we lack a proper understanding of the kinds of things that receive probabilities: the objects of probabilities. This project will provide such understandin ....The Objects of Probabilities. Probabilities impact almost every aspect of our lives. Actuaries calculate probabilities of property loss due to bushfires, while climatologists warn that such probabilities will increase alarmingly. Probabilities abound in engineering, medicine, the law, the sciences and social sciences, and much philosophy. Yet we lack a proper understanding of the kinds of things that receive probabilities: the objects of probabilities. This project will provide such understanding. It will rethink the foundations of probability and decision theory, with potential ramifications for the philosophy, science, and public policy that are based on these theories. It thus aims to strengthen Australia's research profile and international standing in these areas.Read moreRead less
Ethics and Formal Theories of Decision. The benefits of this project will include improved methods for making ethically-informed decisions in various practical situations. Among the more important applications are legal decisions and conservation management. The theory developed in this project will also help shed light on both the statistical and ethical issues raised in much-debated areas such as racial profiling. The project will also serve to enhance Australia's reputation in technical philo ....Ethics and Formal Theories of Decision. The benefits of this project will include improved methods for making ethically-informed decisions in various practical situations. Among the more important applications are legal decisions and conservation management. The theory developed in this project will also help shed light on both the statistical and ethical issues raised in much-debated areas such as racial profiling. The project will also serve to enhance Australia's reputation in technical philosophy and decision theory.Read moreRead less
Logic, Abstraction and Construction. This is unashamedly a pure research project in logic. It aims to enhance our understanding of core issues in the nature of the world and how we can appropriately reason about it. Nevertheless, the techniques developed in logic inevitably find a home in applications in computer science, linguistics, mathematics and related fields. This project, in particular, will develop tools for realistically reasoning about the kinds of abstract or constructed objects on ....Logic, Abstraction and Construction. This is unashamedly a pure research project in logic. It aims to enhance our understanding of core issues in the nature of the world and how we can appropriately reason about it. Nevertheless, the techniques developed in logic inevitably find a home in applications in computer science, linguistics, mathematics and related fields. This project, in particular, will develop tools for realistically reasoning about the kinds of abstract or constructed objects one finds in mathematics, and with the vague or contradictory concepts we use in everyday discourse. In addition, the project will provide research training for postgraduate students, and it will strengthen an already internationally recognised research centre in philosophical logic.Read moreRead less