Bertrand's Paradox and the Maximum Entropy Principle

Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 101 (3):505-523 (2019)
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Abstract

An important suggestion of objective Bayesians is that the maximum entropy principle can replace a principle which is known to get into paradoxical difficulties: the principle of indifference. No one has previously determined whether the maximum entropy principle is better able to solve Bertrand’s chord paradox than the principle of indifference. In this paper I show that it is not. Additionally, the course of the analysis brings to light a new paradox, a revenge paradox of the chords, that is unique to the maximum entropy principle.

Author Profiles

Nicholas Shackel
Cardiff University
Darrell P. Rowbottom
Lingnan University

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