ISAAC LEVI’s CONTRIBUTION TO EPISTEMOLOGY AND DECION THEORY

Jenny Lyne S. Lisayen

Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College
jslisayen@up.edu.ph

Abstract: This research study focused on Isaac Levi’s contribution to decision theory. Document analysis specifically
content analysis was used to primary gather the data needed. Isaac Levi loved bringing ideas to life and creating with like-minded
individuals. Levi's contributions, as is typical of his work, are based on important distinctions, many of which are made with the
help of reliable decision making. In addition, Levi’s epistemology creates belief changing system. Many of his books offers
numerous epistemological questions from unique pragmatic questions. The many narratives make it evident how crucial a part of
Levi's theory of knowledge's analysis of the organization and methods of inquiry and decision making is .

Keywords: pragmatism, epistemology, philosophy, science, decision theory

INTRODUCTION

All facets of choice are covered by multidisciplinary decision theory. The behavioral and social sciences are
built upon it. The philosophical assertions of decision theory are examined and improved by philosophical decision
theory. Its main topic is rational decision-making. As a result, it deals with normative issues and is related to
philosophical sub-fields like epistemology and ethics. Decision theory supports both epistemology's study of rational
belief and ethics' study of moral behavior, objectives, and character qualities. The behavioral and social sciences build
models of human behavior using decision theory.

Isaac Levi is renowned for his contributions to decision theory and epistemology. Furthermore, Isaac Levi is a
leading figure in the philosophical fields of pragmatic rationality and epistemology. His philosophic outlook has
remained remarkably consistent over time. Isaac Levi has consistently defended the unity of reason thesis, which
holds that practical deliberation and theoretical inquiry while having different values and objectives, are nonetheless
comparable structurally.

Isaac Levi (June 30, 1930 – December 25, 2018) was an American philosopher who served as the John
Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. He is renowned for his contributions to decision theory and
epistemology. With the publication of his first book, Gambling with Truth, Levi initially gained recognition. Levi was
well-known for his contributions to the fields of uncertainty and belief revision. Moreover, Levi was known for his work
in belief revision and imprecise probability.

Epistemology

The term “epistemology” comes from the Greek words “episteme” and “logos”. “Episteme” can be translated as
“knowledge” or “understanding” or “acquaintance”, while “logos” can be translated as “account” or “argument” or
“reason”. (Steup, M., & Neta, R. (2005)

According to Seidenfeld (2019), Isaac Levi was one of the central actors in this epistemological revolution. The
first cornerstone of Levi’s epistemology is his notion of full belief. Full beliefs are free of any doubt; this is Levi’s
Peircean heritage. They are not in need of justification; they rather form the current base on which to proceed.
However, full beliefs can change, the changes need be justified, and Levi is amply occupied with this justification.
 Isaac Levi, a key figure in modern pragmatism, has successfully developed, corrected, and applied the views
of classical pragmatists like Charles S. Peirce and John Dewey, offering a novel and important approach to a number
of contemporary philosophical problems, such as issues with logic, epistemology, decision theory, etc. Much of the
rest of his work in epistemology has been devoted to extending and implementing this original program.

According to Levi, epistemology should not be understood as a discipline that identifies the principles
according to which we can decide whether our beliefs are justified or not.

His books such as Gambling with Truth, The enterprise of knowledge: an essay on knowledge, credal
probability, and chance, Hard choices: decision making under unresolved conflict, Decisions and revisions:
philosophical essays on knowledge and value, The Fixation of Belief and Its Undoing and many more offer a
sound and comprehensive framework to approach numerous epistemological questions from a unique pragmatic
viewpoint.

Decision-making Theory

Decision theory is an interdisciplinary area of study, related to and of interest to practitioners in mathematics,
economics, philosophy, management and psychology. It is concerned with how real decision-makers make decisions,
and with how optimal decisions can be reached.

According to Joyce (2002), Isaac Levi has long been among the most persistent and influential critics of causal
decision theory. Since of her work, Isaac Levi has long attacked causal decision theory because it calls for deliberate
agents to forecast their own behavior. He argues that a rational actor cannot believe she has the freedom to take an
action while also estimating the likelihood that she would carry it out. Levi is mistaken in both instances. First, the
causal decision theory does not compel agents to predict their own future behavior. Second, Levi's defense of the
"deliberation crowds out prediction thesis" is based on a deficient theory of how belief is measured. Furthermore, any
acceptable theory of human agency and freedom must allow for actors to develop beliefs about their own actions
while they are considering a course of action.

As cited by Kyburg (1986), inquiry must begin with question and must be conducted against unquestionable
background. This goes with Isaac Levi’s idea that inquiry conclude only with a decision: a decision to accept a certain
answer. With his book titled “Gambling with Truth”, cited by Mackie (1968), Levi sets out to develop an account of
rational belief on the analogy of practical decision of practical decision theory. His starting point in his book is the
Bayesian principle, that a rational decision-maker chooses, from the options open to him, that which maximizes
expected utility- summing, for each option, its utility on each possible outcome, weighted in accordance with the
probability of that outcome. A Bayesian in terms of decision theory states that decision maker proceeds by assigning
a numerical utility to each of the possible consequences of an action, and a probability to each of the uncertain events
that may affect that utility.

Moreover, in Levi’s book titled “Decisions and Revisions: Philosophical Essays on Knowledge and Value”, he
developed an interrelated set of views, in the tradition of Peirce and Dewey, on epistemology and the philosophy of
science and social science. This focus has been on the problem of induction and the growth of knowledge, the
foundations of probability and the theory of rational decision-making. His most important essays in these areas are
assembled here, with an introduction setting out their main themes and connections. As a whole the volume presents
a coherent, elaborated position which will be of great interest to a range of philosophers, decision theorists, welfare
and social choice theorists and cognitive scientists.

In addition, the book “The Enterprise of Knowledge”, indicates that decision-making theory can be used to
improve risk analysis and risk management. In addition, without a basic understanding of Levi’s decision-theoritical
approach, it is difficult to appreciate his insights fully. A decision maker’s information at a certain time about states of
nature is in Levi’s theory. Levi’s theory makes one of the few profound and substantial contributions to probability and
decision theory. With Levi’s decision theory, it is rather easy to see that there are four paradigmatic types of decision.

The book, “Hard choices: decision making under unresolved conflict” explores the consequences of denying
the assumption and develops a general approach to decision-making under unresolved conflict. Levi discusses
conflicts of value in several domains - those arising in moral dilemmas, the drawing of scientific inferences, decisions
taken under uncertainty, and in social choice. In each of these he adapts his theoretical framework, showing how
conflict may often be reduced though not always altogether eliminated. It is a commonplace that in making decisions
agents often have to juggle competing values, and that no choice will maximize satisfaction of them all. However, the
prevailing account of these cases assumes that there is always a single ranking of the agent's values, and therefore
no unresolvable conflict between them. Isaac Levi denies this assumption, arguing that agents often must choose
without having balanced their different values and that to be rational, an act does not have to be optimal, only what
Levi terms 'admissible'.

METHODOLOGY

Simple document analysis was used in this study. Document analysis is a form of qualitative research that
uses a systematic procedure to analyze documentary evidence and answer specific research questions. Specifically,
Content Analysis was utilized to analyze the documented information from text. Different researches were carefully
examined to produce the needed data. Figure below shows the framework of this study.

Data Collection

Data Review

Data Analysis

Report
FINDINGS

Based on the review made by the researcher, it was found out that many of Isaac Levi’s contributions were
based on decision-making theory and anchored on the theory of epistemology. These contributions include many of
his books such as The Gambling with Truth, The enterprise of knowledge: an essay on knowledge, credal probability,
and chance, Hard choices: decision making under unresolved conflict, and Decisions and revisions: philosophical
essays on knowledge and value.

The idea that decision theory is ingrained in each and every one of these big philosophical problems is crucial for
comprehending Levi's unique perspective on them. Levi's contributions, as is typical of his work, are based on important
distinctions, many of which are made with the help of reliable decision-theory.

Moreover, epistemology should not be understood as a discipline that identifies the principles according to
which we can decide whether our beliefs are justified or not. The function and goals of epistemology makes it evident
how crucial it is to Levi's theory of knowledge that the structure and methods of inquiry be examined.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the gathered information on Levi’s contribution on Decision Theory and Epistemology, it is evident
how crucial a part Levi's theory of knowledge's analysis of the organization and methods of inquiry and decision
making is. His idea on epistemology necessitates taking into account the various psychological paths to knowledge,
including various logical and scientific thinking processes.

Levi's contributions, as is typical of his work, are based on important distinctions, many of which are made with the help of
reliable decision making. In addition, Levi’s epistemology creates belief changing system. Many of his books offer numerous
epistemological questions from unique pragmatic questions. The many narratives make it evident how crucial a part of Levi's
theory of knowledge's analysis of the organization and methods of inquiry and decision making is .

Many of Isaac Levi’s works reiterate that one of the core areas of philosophical investigation is the study of
knowing. To assess whether a claim to knowledge actually qualifies as knowledge, it must be reviewed.
Understanding what knowledge is and how much information is feasible is primarily needed for this type of evaluation.
REFERENCES

Joyce, J. M. (2002). Levi on causal decision theory and the possibility of predicting one's own actions. Philosophical Studies,
110(1), 69-102.

Kyburg Jr, H. E. (1986). Decisions and Revisions: Philosophical Essays on Knowledge and Value. The Philosophical Review, 95(3),
441-444.

Levi, I. (1984). Decisions and revisions: philosophical essays on knowledge and value.

Levi, I. (1983). The enterprise of knowledge: An essay on knowledge, credal probability, and chance. MIT press.

Mackie, J. L. (1968). Gambling with Truth. https://www.jstor.org/stable/686248

Nordmann, A. (1988). Decisions and Revisions: Philosophical Essays on Knowledge and Value.

Olsson, E. J. (Ed.). (2006). Knowledge and inquiry: Essays on the pragmatism of Isaac Levi. Cambridge University Press.

Seidenfeld, T. (2019, June). A Retrospective on Isaac Levi: June 30, 1930–December 25, 2018. In International Symposium on
Imprecise Probabilities: Theories and Applications (pp. 346-353). PMLR.

Steup, M., & Neta, R. (2005). Epistemology. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epistemology/?

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