I should probably give some context of how I see this section playing a role in the wider FAQ—this might help clarify things but will also give people (including perhaps Luke) a chance to correct me if I’ve misunderstood the purpose of the section.
In the rest of the FAQ, it has basically been presumed that the aim of decision theory is to develop a decision theory that wins. While dissenting views have been mentioned briefly, the FAQ is structured around this way of judging decision theories.
This raises a question of whether it correctly represents the views of decision theorists. After all, this FAQ is supposed to be an introduction to the area (rather than a substantial original contribution) and the hope is that the FAQ will be of use to people studying decision theory in academia. Given this, it’s important that standard positions are represented accurately.
So an additional section is being added to clarify how standard views should be interpretted (this section). As such, this clarifies the views that many decision theorists have about the issue of decision theory and winning. It is not meant to be a defence of these views nor is it meant to be a detailed analysis—the document is a FAQ and is meant to provide a clear introduction to the field including standard views on how decision theory’s should be judged.
Hopefully that provides some context for reading it and (for those that know the desired context) if I’ve misunderstood the context, please do clarify with me. For those that don’t know the desired context, feel free to comment if you think this is a flawed thing to be aiming for anyway.
I should probably give some context of how I see this section playing a role in the wider FAQ—this might help clarify things but will also give people (including perhaps Luke) a chance to correct me if I’ve misunderstood the purpose of the section.
In the rest of the FAQ, it has basically been presumed that the aim of decision theory is to develop a decision theory that wins. While dissenting views have been mentioned briefly, the FAQ is structured around this way of judging decision theories.
This raises a question of whether it correctly represents the views of decision theorists. After all, this FAQ is supposed to be an introduction to the area (rather than a substantial original contribution) and the hope is that the FAQ will be of use to people studying decision theory in academia. Given this, it’s important that standard positions are represented accurately.
So an additional section is being added to clarify how standard views should be interpretted (this section). As such, this clarifies the views that many decision theorists have about the issue of decision theory and winning. It is not meant to be a defence of these views nor is it meant to be a detailed analysis—the document is a FAQ and is meant to provide a clear introduction to the field including standard views on how decision theory’s should be judged.
Hopefully that provides some context for reading it and (for those that know the desired context) if I’ve misunderstood the context, please do clarify with me. For those that don’t know the desired context, feel free to comment if you think this is a flawed thing to be aiming for anyway.