Mind 130(520), 2021 Abstract The Bayesian maxim for rational learning could be described asconservative changefrom one probabilistic belief orcredencefunction to another in response to new information. ). But can this conservative-change maxim be extended to revising one’s credences in response to entertaining propositions or concepts of which one was previously unaware? The economists,) make a proposal in this spirit. Philosophers have adopted effectively the same rule: revision in response to growing awareness should not affect the relative probabilities of propositions in one’s ‘old’ epistemic state. The rule is compelling, but only under the assumptions that its advocates introduce. It is not a general requirement of rationality, or so we argue. We provide informal counterexamples. And we show that, when awareness grows, the boundary between one’s ‘old’ and ‘new’ epistemic commitments is blurred. Accordingly, there is no general notion of conservative change in this setting.

in Synthese (2020) AbstractWhen an agent learns of an expert’s credence in a proposition about which they are an expert, the agent should defer to the expert and adopt that credence as their own. This

Human Ecology, 47, 157-163 Abstract In this paper, I draw on knowledge from several disciplines to explicate the potential evolutionary significance of health effects of religiosity. I present three mai

in: Human Ecology 48. Book review of Emmanuel Anati: The Origins of Religion. A Study in Conceptual Anthropology  Read more

Richard Arneson: Should we reward the deserving? Some puzzles

Do plausible fundamental principles of justice incorporate the idea of rewarding the deserving? Utilitarianism is famously indifferent between a world in which saints fare badly and scoundrels fare we

Information neglect in judgment and decision-making

A Multidisciplinary Look at Knowledge Resistance ’Knowledge Resistance: Causes, Consequences, and Cures' is a multidiciplinary research program, comprised of studies from the fields of Philosophy, Psy

European Journal of Population, vol. 40:9 Abstract We use longitudinal data on religious affiliation in Finland to examine childbearing behavior. All analyses are based on detailed fertility information

Rivista Internazionale di Filosfia e Psicologia Abstract This paper focuses on cases of epistemically transformative experiences, as Paul calls them, cases where we have radically different experiences t

Journal of clinical ethics 28(4): 269-278. Abstract This article provides a new argument and a new value-theoretical ground for person-centered care and shared decision making that ascribes to it the rol

Northern Saints and Southern Sinners? Culture, Religion and Economic Policy

Research seminar with Josef Hien, political scientist and researcher at the Institute for Futures Studies. This presentation promotes a novel explanation of the rift between Northern and Southern memb