How To Read a Representor
Imprecise probabilities are often modelled with representors, or sets of probability functions. In the recent literature, two ways of interpreting representors have emerged as especially prominent: vagueness interpretations, according to which each probability function in the set represents how the agent's beliefs would be if any vagueness were precisified away; and comparativist interpretations, according to which the set represents those comparative confidence relations that are common to all probability functions therein. I argue that these interpretations have some important limitations. I also propose an alternative—the functional interpretation—according to which representors are best interpreted by reference to the roles they play in the theories that make use of them.
Authors
- Edward J. R. Elliott (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4387-7967)
Institutions
- University of Leeds (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Ergo an Open Access Journal of Philosophy
- Published
- 2025-05-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3998/ergo.7653
- Primary Topic
- Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- City University of New York
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Leeds