b. 1950
Wolfgang Spohn (born 1950) is a German philosopher and professor emeritus at the University of Konstanz, best known for developing ranking theory—a formal framework for representing graded beliefs and their revision as an alternative to probabilistic epistemology. His work spans formal epistemology, philosophy of science, the semantics of conditionals, and the formal analysis of causation.
Developed ranking theory (ordinal conditional functions) as a non-probabilistic formal framework for belief revision and degrees of disbelief
Provided a formal epistemic account of causation grounded in ranking functions
Systematized the relationship between ranking theory, the principle of maximum entropy, and Bayesian epistemology
Contributed to the formal semantics of conditionals and their connection to belief dynamics
Authored 'The Laws of Belief' (2012), the definitive systematic treatment of ranking theory