“But for us, probability is the very guide of life.” (Bishop Joseph Butler)
Probability concepts are important in everyday reasoning about chance and uncertainty, in the formal methods of inductive logic and scientific reasoning, and in philosophical arguments of many different kinds.
This course focuses on the MEANING of probability, how to understand the different things that people mean, or what scientists or mathematicians mean, when they use expressions like “the odds of getting a 2 on a dice roll is 1/6″, or “the probability of precipitation is 60%”, or “the probability of the atom decaying in one hour is 50%”.
There are, in fact, several different views of how such language should be interpreted. Becoming familiar with these views will help you to think more clearly and critically about situations where probability concepts arise.
Total viewing time: 1h 14m
Part 1: Introduction
1.1 Probability: Why Learn This Stuff? (2:09) (FREE)
1.2 What is Inductive Logic? (6:11)
1.3 Probability as a Mathematical Object vs. What That Object Represents (5:05)
Part 2: Interpretations of The Concept of Probability
2.1 Classical Probability (9:35) (FREE)
2.2 Logical Probability (7:46)
2.3 Frequency Interpretations (10:33)
2.4 Subjective (Bayesian) Probability (19:46) (FREE)
2.5 Propensity Interpretations (13:03)
Return to the index of courses