Probability assignments to dispositions in ontologies
Barton Adrien, Burgun Anita, Duvauferrier Regis
We investigate how probabilities can be assigned to dispositions in ontologies, building on Popper’s propensity approach. We show that if D is a disposition universal associated with a trigger T and a realization R, and d is an instance of D, then one can assign a probability to the triplets (d,T,R) and (D,T,R). These probabilities measure the causal power of dispositions, which can be defined as limits of relative frequencies of possible instances of T triggering an instance of R over a hypothetical infinite random sequence of possible instances of T satisfying certain conditions. Adopting a fallibilist methodology, these probability values can be estimated by relative frequencies in actual finite sequences.