Overview

Anthropic Bias explores how to reason when you suspect that your evidence is biased by ""observation selection effects""--that is, evidence that has been filtered by the precondition that there be some suitably positioned observer to ""have"" the evidence. This conundrum--sometimes alluded to as ""the anthropic principle,"" ""self-locating belief,"" or ""indexical information""--turns out to be a surprisingly perplexing and intellectually stimulating challenge, one abounding with important implications for many areas in science and philosophy. There are the philosophical thought experiments and paradoxes: the Doomsday Argument; Sleeping Beauty; the Presumptuous Philosopher; Adam & Eve; the Absent-Minded Driver; the Shooting Room. And there are the applications in contemporary science: cosmology (""How many universes are there?"", ""Why does the universe appear fine-tuned for life?""); evolutionary theory (""How improbable was the evolution of intelligent life on our planet?""); the problem of time's arrow (""Can it be given a thermodynamic explanation?""); quantum physics (""How can the many-worlds theory be tested?""); game-theory problems with imperfect recall (""How to model them?"") ; even traffic analysis (""Why is the 'next lane' faster?""). Anthropic Bias argues that the same principles are at work across all these domains. And it offers a synthesis: a mathematically explicit theory of observation selection effects that attempts to meet scientific needs while steering clear of philosophical paradox.

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9780415883948

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From traffic analysis via a many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and the problem of the fine-tuning of the universe to the purely philosophical problems of the Doomsday argument and the Sleeping Beauty problem, Bostrom succeeds in shining a new and interesting light on all of these issues. --Wouter Meijs Bostrom presents a highly readable and widely relevant work which can be warmly recommended to everyone in philosophy of science. --Christian Wuthrich, Philosophy of Science Probably the worst thing one can say about this book is that it is too short...Anthropic Bias is a wonderful achievement, which should find place on the shelf of every serious student of modern philosophy of science, epistemology, and cosmology. --Milan Cirkovic, Foundations of Science Anthropic Bias is a synthesis of some of the most interesting and important ideas to emerge from discussion of cosmic fine-tuning, the anthropic principle, and the Doomsday Argument. It deserves a place on the shelves of epistemologists and philosophers of science, as well as specialists interested in the topics just mentioned. --Neil Manson, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

From traffic analysis via a many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and the problem of the fine-tuning of the universe to the purely philosophical problems of the Doomsday argument and the Sleeping Beauty problem, Bostrom succeeds in shining a new and interesting light on all of these issues. --Wouter Meijs Bostrom presents a highly readable and widely relevant work which can be warmly recommended to everyone in philosophy of science. --Christian Wuthrich, Philosophy of Science Probably the worst thing one can say about this book is that it is too short....Anthropic Bias is a wonderful achievement, which should find place on the shelf of every serious student of modern philosophy of science, epistemology, and cosmology. --Milan Cirkovic, Foundations of Science Anthropic Bias is a synthesis of some of the most interesting and important ideas to emerge from discussion of cosmic fine-tuning, the anthropic principle, and the Doomsday Argument. It deserves a place on the shelves of epistemologists and philosophers of science, as well as specialists interested in the topics just mentioned. --Neil Manson, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

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Nick Bostrom

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