Abstract
A recent argument by Hawthorne and Lasonen-Aarnio purports to show that we can uphold the principle that competently forming conjunctions is a knowledge-preserving operation only at the cost of a rampant skepticism about the future. A key premise of their argument is that, in light of quantum-mechanical considerations, future contingents never quite have chance 1 of being true. We argue, by drawing attention to the order of magnitude of the relevant quantum probabilities, that the skeptical threat of Hawthorne and Lasonen-Aarnio's argument is illusory.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 109-114 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Synthese |
Volume | 184 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2012 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Copyright:Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Conjunction principle
- Quantum probabilities
- Skepticism