Psychology Program and Philosophy Program Present
Troubles with Bayesianism: An Introduction to the Psychological Immune System
Monday, February 13, 2017
Olin Humanities, Room 102
4:45 pm EST/GMT-5
Eric Mandelbaum4:45 pm EST/GMT-5
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Baruch College, CUNY
A Bayesian mind is, at its core, an ideally rational mind. Thus the current popularity of Bayesianism should strike us as somewhat curious, since recent events in human history don't much seem like the result of a rational agents cooperating in a reasonable fashion. In this talk, I'll try to reconcile Bayesian findings which purport to display our rationality, with the stark evidence of our current irrationality. I conclude that instead of approximating a Bayesian processor, belief updating functions to maintain a Psychological Immune System. I'll conclude by discussing some ways the Psychological Immune System can illuminate recent and on-going political events.
For more information, call 845-758-7393, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 4:45 pm EST/GMT-5
Location: Olin Humanities, Room 102