Why ain’t evidentialists rich?

Abstract A common argument for favouring Evidential Decision Theory (EDT) over Causal Decision Theory (CDT) is that EDT has predictably higher expected returns in Newcomb Problems. But this does not show much. For almost any pair of theories, you can come up with cases where one does, on average, better than the other. Here I describe a case involving dynamic choice where EDT predictably does worse than CDT.

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Publication Details

Journal
Analysis
Published
2024-10-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/analys/anae038
Primary Topic
Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Why ain’t evidentialists rich?

Brian Weatherson
Analysis
Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics
article

Why ain’t evidentialists rich?

Brian Weatherson
article en

Abstract

Abstract A common argument for favouring Evidential Decision Theory (EDT) over Causal Decision Theory (CDT) is that EDT has predictably higher expected returns in Newcomb Problems. But this does not show much. For almost any pair of theories, you can come up with cases where one does, on average, better than the other. Here I describe a case involving dynamic choice where EDT predictably does worse than CDT.

AnalysisVol. 84(4)
University of Michigan (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 72%
Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics
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Why ain’t evidentialists rich? — Brian Weatherson · Analysis (2024) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS