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Evidence as Dictator: When Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem Meets the Ethics of Belief

Wu, Chen-Wei
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Abstract

Could it be rational to believe contrary to the evidence if the belief brings a substantial amount of practical benefits? In my thesis, I investigate this question through the lens of social choice theory. Specifically, I argue that it is never rational to believe contrary to the evidence by utilizing Arrow’s impossibility theorem. To this end, I introduce an analogy between a belief system and a social group, discuss certain conditions that hold in a rational agent’s belief system, and compare and analyze the performances of different belief systems. The goal is to shed light on the role of evidence in a rational agent’s belief system while exploring the application of theoretical results in social choice theory to the ethics of belief.

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Date
2024-08-01
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Keywords
Arrow’s impossibility theorem, The ethics of belief, Evidentialism, Pragmatism, Dictatorship, Social choice theory
Citation
Wu, Chen-Wei. "Evidence as Dictator: When Arrow�s Impossibility Theorem Meets the Ethics of Belief." 2024. Thesis, Georgia State University. https://doi.org/10.57709/37137831
Embargo Lift Date
2024-05-31
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