Skip to content
Carmelics
TopicsThinkersChangesContributorsLoading account…

    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

    Navigate

    • Topics
    • Search
    • Recent Changes
    • Contribute
    • How It Works
    • Glossary
    • Thinkers
    • Contributors
    • About
    • Statistics
    • Terms
    • Privacy

    Database

    Statements
    —
    Perspectives
    —
    Topics
    —

    Press ? for keyboard shortcuts

    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Stalnaker — Carmelics
    Thinkers/Stalnaker
    Stalnaker

    Stalnaker

    contemporaryAnalytic Philosophy

    b. 1940

    Robert Stalnaker (born 1940) is an American analytic philosopher and professor at MIT, best known for his contributions to the semantics of conditionals and possible worlds theory. He has made foundational contributions to formal epistemology, philosophy of language, and epistemic game theory, developing influential accounts of belief, context, and rational deliberation.

    WWikipediaSEPStanford Encyclopedia

    Notable Achievements

    1

    Developed the possible-worlds semantics for conditional statements (the Stalnaker conditional)

    2

    Authored foundational work on epistemic game theory, including his 1998 analysis of rationality in sequential games

    3

    Developed the theory of context and common ground in discourse semantics

    4

    Wrote 'Inquiry' (1984), a systematic account of belief and rational acceptance

    5

    Contributed to the debate on common knowledge and rationality with Aumann, distinguishing knowledge-based from belief-based models

    Positions & Arguments(3)

    Skepticism

    claim

    The principle of maximum entropy is a more cautious and broadly applicable version of the Principle of Indifference.

    claim

    The difference in conclusions between Aumann (1995) and Stalnaker (1998) is due to differing models of belief revision upon deviation from the backward induction path

    claim

    Plausibility updates in sequential games during actual play differ in interpretation from plausibility updates used in pregame deliberation for Backward Induction.

    Truth & Knowledge

    claim

    The principle of maximum entropy is a more cautious and broadly applicable version of the Principle of Indifference.

    claim

    The difference in conclusions between Aumann (1995) and Stalnaker (1998) is due to differing models of belief revision upon deviation from the backward induction path

    claim

    Plausibility updates in sequential games during actual play differ in interpretation from plausibility updates used in pregame deliberation for Backward Induction.

    At a Glance

    Ideas

    3

    Topics

    2

    Era

    contemporary

    Tradition

    Analytic Philosophy

    Topic Influence

    Truth & Knowledge3
    Skepticism3

    Related Thinkers

    David Lewis2 sharedImmanuel Kant2 sharedBoyd2 sharedBrian Skyrms2 sharedStathis Psillos2 sharedBertrand Russell2 sharedDavid Hume2 sharedAristotle2 shared

    Dive Deeper

    Explore Truth & Knowledge→See Skepticism→