Bayesian Boot Camp

The IDEA

Bayesianism—using real numbers obeying probability mathematics to represent agents' levels of confidence—grows ever more central to many areas of philosophy (not just epistemology, decision theory, and philosophy of science, but also ethics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, etc.).  Unfortunately, many philosophers are unable to engage with conversations involving Bayesianism because they either missed an opportunity to learn its fundamentals during their training, or never had that opportunity at all.

We will gather a group of philosophers in beautiful Madison, Wisconsin for two weeks during the summer for an intensive course in Bayesianism, designed to equip participants to teach and engage with research in the area.  The schedule will be organized around Michael Titelbaum's text Fundamentals of Bayesian Epistemology, but there will be many additional readings, all of which will be discussed seminar-style among the participants and with occasional guest presenters.

The seminar is open to a variety of teachers and researchers: faculty, graduate students, and postdocs.  We are not just interested in participants from top research programs; one of our explicit goals is to provide Bayesian training to philosophers who otherwise wouldn't have access to it.  No previous knowledge of Bayesianism is required or expected—that's the point!—nor any advanced mathematics beyond high school algebra.  (Participants should know elementary formal logic, sentential and predicative.)

This is a great opportunity to meet new people with shared interests, and learn Bayesianism together in a fun and interactive way! 

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

The seminar will be held on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison from June 16 through June 27, 2025.  Participants should plan to arrive on the 15th and depart on the 28th.  Thanks to generous funding from the UW Department of Philosophy and College of Letters & Science, there is no cost for participation, but participants will need to cover travel, food, and accommodations (with some suggestions from the organizers).  A limited amount of financial support will be available to subsidize travel and lodging costs for participants without sufficient professional funds (exact amounts to be determined).

HOW TO APPLY

Applications are due March 1, 2025.

To apply, send an email to [email protected] with the subject line "Boot Camp application" and the following information in the body of the email:

1. One or two paragraphs on why you are interested in participating in the Bayesian Boot Camp, and how it will aid your research and/or teaching.
2. Your background in Bayesianism, math, and logic.  (We don't expect you to have any of the first two, and any logic beyond the elementary; this will just help us form discussion groups and the like.)
3. The name and e-mail address of a person who can offer a short recommendation on your behalf.  (Please note that we will not contact all references, and whether we contact your reference is not an indicator of the status of your application.)
4. Whether you are interested in financial support, and if so what types and amounts of professional support you already have available from other sources.  Please also indicate what city you would be traveling to Madison from, so we can estimate travel costs. 

Please attach to the email a current cv.

We aim to inform participants of their acceptance, and any amounts of financial support, in early April.

If you have any questions about applying, or about the seminar more generally, please email [email protected].  

GUEST SPEAKERS

Elliott Sober (UW-Madison, Stanford, Likelihoodism)

Ray Briggs (U Chicago, Accuracy)

Andy Egan (Rutgers, Decision theory)

Alex Meehan (UW-Madison, Deference and chance)

ACCOMMODATION

Specific accommodation information will be provided to seminar participants once they're selected.  We are working with both hotels and on-campus housing to rent rooms for the full two weeks within walking distance of the seminar.  Madison also has a variety of airbnb and vrbo options, if multiple participants want to defray costs by living together.  (It's very easy to get to campus from any part of Madison by Metro bus.)