Abstract

The Snow White problem is introduced to demonstrate how learning something of which one could not have learnt the opposite (due to observer selection bias) can change an agent’s probability assignment. This helps us to analyse the Sleeping Beauty problem, which is deconstructed as a combinatorial engine and a subjective wrapper. The combinatorial engine of the problem is analogous to Bertrand’s boxes paradox and can be solved with standard probability theory. The subjective wrapper is clarified using the Snow White problem. Sample spaces for all three problems are presented. The conclusion is that subjectivity plays no irreducible role in solving the Sleeping Beauty problem and that no reference to centered worlds is required to provide the answer.

Details

Title
The Snow White problem
Author
Wenmackers, Sylvia 1 

 Institute of Philosophy, Centre for Logic and Analytic Philosophy, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium 
Pages
4137-4153
Publication year
2019
Publication date
Oct 2019
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
ISSN
00397857
e-ISSN
15730964
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1972122673
Copyright
Synthese is a copyright of Springer, (2017). All Rights Reserved., © 2017. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.