These are my links for April 12th through April 22nd:
- Gilbert Harman, Sanjeev Kulkarni – Reliable Reasoning: Induction and Statistical Learning Theory – Reviewed by Kevin Kelly, and Conor Mayo-Wilson, Carnegie Mellon University – Philosophical Reviews – University of Notre Dame – Harman and Kulkarni’s Reliable Reasoning is a welcome attempt to relate machine learning to the philosophy of induction at an introductory level suitable for undergraduates or for professional philosophers and scientists who desire a painless introduction to the subject. In clear, helpful figures and engagingly informal prose, the slender volume summarizes the main results and concepts of statistical learning theory, a particular statistical framework developed by V. N. Vapnik, A. J. Chervonenkis and others for machine learning and other applications (Vapnik and Chervonenkis 1974, Vapnik 1998, 1999, 2000). Harman and Kulkarni also explain how statistical learning theory might shed light on philosophical topics like the problem of induction and the role of simplicity in theory choice. The book is mainly an informal précis of Vapnik (2000), with some important differences.
- Independence and Large Cardinals (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) – The independence results in arithmetic and set theory led to a proliferation of mathematical systems. One very general way to investigate the space of possible mathematical systems is under the relation of interpretability. Under this relation the space of possible mathematical systems forms an intricate hierarchy of increasingly strong systems. Large cardinal axioms provide a canonical means of climbing this hierarchy and they play a central role in comparing systems from conceptually distinct domains.
- The Sources of Normativity (application/pdf Object) – Whether this is true or not, the moral philosophy of the modern period can be read as a search for the source of normativity. Philosophers in the modern period have come up with four successive answers to the question of what makes morality normative. In brief, they are these: (1) Voluntarism, (2) Realism, (3) Reflective Endorsement, ( 4 ) The Appeal to Autonomy.
- Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics – These pages attempt to show the first uses of various words used in mathematics. Research for these pages is ongoing, and a citation should not be assumed to be the earliest use unless it is indicated as such.
