Philosophy of Statistics

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course is an introduction to some of the foundational questions about probability from a "statistics first" point of view. We will begin with an elementary review of statistical inference, hypothesis testing and asymptotics, which will provide a background context for our discussion of why probability is empirically relevant, and what we should think probabilities are (on the basis of being empirically relevant in this way). By way of illustration, we will discuss these philosophical questions about probability in the context of simple examples drawn from physics and economics. The assessment will include several problem sets, a midterm exam and a final exam.