Isaac Levi Explained

Region:	Western philosophy
Era:	Contemporary philosophy
Isaac Levi
School Tradition:	Neopragmatism
Main Interests:	Pragmatism, epistemology, decision theory, philosophy of science
Influences:	C.S. Peirce, de Finetti, Ernest Nagel, Sidney Morgenbesser, G.A. Cohen
Influenced:	John Danaher (martial artist), Teddy Seidenfeld, Scott J. Shapiro, Cheryl Misak
Notable Ideas:	Commitment/performance distinction, corrigibilism/fallibilism distinction, indeterminate probability, Levi identity, unity of reason thesis

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 noted for his work in epistemology and decision theory.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Education and career

Levi was one of several doctoral students of Ernest Nagel at Columbia University who were influential in American post-war philosophy; others were Morton White, Patrick Suppes, and Henry E. Kyburg, Jr. Levi taught at Case Western Reserve University before joining the Columbia faculty in 1970.^[5] He was elected in 1986 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Levi also served as doctoral advisor to prominent formal philosophers, including Horacio Arló-Costa and Teddy Seidenfeld, and acted as a mentor to Cheryl Misak during her year at Columbia. There was a debate between Kyburg and Levi on topics in what has come to be known as formal epistemology.

Philosophical work

Levi first made a name for himself with his first book, Gambling with Truth. In the text Levi offered a decision theoretic reconstruction of epistemology with a close-eye towards the classical pragmatist philosophers like William James and Charles Sanders Peirce. Levi was known for his work in belief revision and imprecise probability.

Major publications

Books

• Book: Levi, Isaac . Gambling with truth: an essay on induction and the aims of science . MIT Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 1973 . 1967 . 9780262620260. Originally issued by Knopf (1967).
• Book: Levi, Isaac . The enterprise of knowledge: an essay on knowledge, credal probability, and chance . registration . MIT Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 1980 . 9780262620437.
• Book: Levi, Isaac . Decisions and revisions: philosophical essays on knowledge and value . registration . Cambridge University Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 1984 . 9780521027625.
• Book: Levi, Isaac . Hard choices: decision making under unresolved conflict . registration . Cambridge University Press . Cambridge; New York . 1986 . 9780521386302.
• Book: Levi, Isaac . The fixation of belief and its undoing: changing beliefs through inquiry . Cambridge University Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 1991 . 9780521110297.
• Book: Levi, Isaac . For the sake of the argument: Ramsey Test conditionals, inductive inference and nonmonotonic reasoning . registration . Cambridge University Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 1996 . 9780521039017.
• Book: Levi, Isaac . The covenant of reason: rationality and the commitments of thought . Cambridge University Press . Cambridge; New York . 1997 . 9781139173032.

Chapters in books

See also

• American philosophy
• List of American philosophers

Notes and References

1. Web site: Levi, Isaac, 1930- . Library of Congress . October 3, 2014 . (Isaac Levi, Columbia University) data sheet (b. 06-30-1930).
2. Web site: Faculty Bio – Isaac Levi. Columbia University. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20181220171801/https://philosophy.columbia.edu/directories/faculty/isaac-levi. December 20, 2018. July 23, 2012.
3. Seidenfeld. Teddy. 2019-06-29. A Retrospective on Isaac Levi: June 30, 1930 – December 25, 2018. International Symposium on Imprecise Probabilities: Theories and Applications. en. 346–353.
4. Book: Shook, John R.. Dictionary Of Modern American Philosophers. 2005-05-15. Bloomsbury Publishing. 9781847144706. en. LEVI, Isaac (1930–). https://books.google.com/books?id=DsKvAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1453.
5. Web site: Professor Isaac Levi (1930-2018). Department of Philosophy, Columbia University. 2019-09-27. September 11, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200911015156/https://philosophy.columbia.edu/content/professor-isaac-levi-1930-2018. dead.