235529

(2013) Synthese 190 (12).

An impossibility theorem for amalgamating evidence

Jacob Stegenga

pp. 2391-2411

Amalgamating evidence of different kinds for the same hypothesis into an overall confirmation is analogous, I argue, to amalgamating individuals’ preferences into a group preference. The latter faces well-known impossibility theorems, most famously “Arrow’s Theorem”. Once the analogy between amalgamating evidence and amalgamating preferences is tight, it is obvious that amalgamating evidence might face a theorem similar to Arrow’s. I prove that this is so, and end by discussing the plausibility of the axioms required for the theorem.

Publication details

DOI: 10.1007/s11229-011-9973-x

Full citation:

Stegenga, J. (2013). An impossibility theorem for amalgamating evidence. Synthese 190 (12), pp. 2391-2411.

This document is unfortunately not available for download at the moment.