The doomsday argument without knowledge of birth rank

Philosophical Quarterly 53 (210):79–82 (2003)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

The Carter-Leslie Doomsday argument, as standardly presented, relies on the assumption that you have knowledge of your approximate birth rank. I demonstrate that the Doomsday argument can still be given in a situation where you have no knowledge of your birth rank. This allows one to reply to Bostrom's defense of the Doomsday argument against the refutation based on the idea that your existence makes it more likely that many observers exist.

Author's Profile

Bradley Monton
Wuhan University

Analytics

Added to PP
2009-01-28

Downloads
597 (#36,528)

6 months
131 (#34,623)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?