Von Wright's "the logic of preference" revisited

Fenrong Liu

pp. 69-88

in: Tongdong Bai (ed), Analytic philosophy in China, Synthese 175 (1), 2010.

Abstract

Preference is a key area where analytic philosophy meets philosophical logic. I start with two related issues: reasons for preference, and changes in preference, first mentioned in von Wright’s book The Logic of Preference but not thoroughly explored there. I show how these two issues can be handled together in one dynamic logical framework, working with structured two-level models, and I investigate the resulting dynamics of reason-based preference in some detail. Next, I study the foundational issue of entanglement between preference and beliefs, and relate the resulting richer logics to belief revision theory and decision theory.

Cited authors

Von Wright Georg Henrik