Article,

Knowledge and Action

, and .
Journal of Philosophy, 105 (10): 571-590 (2008)

Abstract

What is the relation between knowledge and action? According to one standard picture, there is none. Rational action is a matter of maximizing expected utility, where expected utility is a function of utility and subjective credence. It is subjective degrees of belief that matter for rational action, not knowledge. On this picture, having knowledge that p is independent of whether it is rational to act on one’s belief that p: knowledge that p is not sufficient since one may know that p despite lacking sufficiently high subjective credence to warrant acting on the proposition that p; and knowledge that p is not necessary, since high subjective credence can rationalize action even in the absence of knowledge.

Tags

Users

  • @allert
  • @yish

Comments and Reviews