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The Metaphysics of Chance
Author(s) -
Briggs Rachael
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
philosophy compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.973
H-Index - 25
ISSN - 1747-9991
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2010.00345.x
Subject(s) - metaphysics , determinism , epistemology , psychology , philosophy
This article surveys several interrelated issues in the metaphysics of chance. First, what is the relationship between the probabilities associated with types of trials (for instance, the chance that a twenty‐eight‐year old develops diabetes before age thirty) and the probabilities associated with individual token trials (for instance, the chance that I develop diabetes before age thirty)? Second, which features of the the world fix the chances: are there objective chances at all, and if so, are there non‐chancy facts on which they supervene? Third, can chance be reconciled with determinism, and if so, how?