Artist: Janusz Jurek

Book symposium on “Beyond Uncertainty” by Katie Steele and Orri Stefánsson

Online symposium, 8 September, hosted by the Institute for Futures Studies, Stockholm. The event will be held online through Airmeet. Register for the event and see the schedule here. If you have trouble registering or questions about the event, email joe.roussos@iffs.se.

Beyond Uncertainty (2021) is a new book in the Cambridge University Press series on Decision Theory and Philosophy. 

The main aim of this book is to introduce the topic of limited awareness, and changes in awareness, to those interested in the philosophy of decision-making and uncertain reasoning. While it has long been of interest to economists and computer scientists, this topic has only recently been subject to philosophical investigation. Indeed, at first sight limited awareness seems to evade any systematic treatment: it is beyond the uncertainty that can be managed. On the one hand, an agent has no control over what contingencies she is and is not aware of at a given time, and any awareness growth takes her by surprise. On the other hand, agents apparently learn to identify the situations in which they are more and less likely to experience limited awareness and subsequent awareness growth. How can these two sides be reconciled?

The one-day symposium will begin with a precis of the book by the authors. Three commentators (Joe Roussos, Teru Thomas, Anna Mahtani) will then discuss aspects of the book with the authors and audience.