Guide to the Richard C. Jeffrey Papers, 1934-2002 ASP.2003.02

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Richard C. Jeffrey Papers
Creator
Jeffrey, Richard C.
Collection Number
ASP.2003.02
Extent
16 Linear Feet (33 boxes)
Date
1934-2002
Abstract
Richard Jeffrey, an American philosopher, logician, and probability theorist, represents one of the most influential philosophers working in decision theory. He was also a major advocate of developing and securing the heritage of logical empiricism, himself championing 'radical probabilism', a view that denies objective probability and abandons attempts to analyze judgment into a rational and an empirical component. Digital reproductions of this collection are available online.
Language
English .
Author
Brigitta Arden.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of this collection are available online.

Biography

Richard Jeffrey is considered to be one of the most influential philosophers of decision-making in the 20th century. His work is unified by his development of Bayesianism, the view that making up one's mind is a matter of adopting judgmental probabilities. Likewise, he advocated radical probabilism by denying objective probability and abandoning attempts to analyze judgment into a rational and an empirical component.

Jeffrey was born in 1926 in Boston, Massachusetts. He earned his M.A. in Philosophy at the University of Chicago in 1952 and his Ph.D. at Princeton University in 1957. After holding academic positions at City College of New York, Stanford University, and the University of Pennsylvania, he joined the faculty of Princeton University in 1974 and became a professor emeritus there in 1999. He was also a visiting professor at the University of California, Irvine.

His philosophical career is closely connected to the story of 20th century philosophy, and most of his teachers had participated in the development of Logical Positivism in Vienna and Berlin in the twenties and early thirties. He collaborated with Rudolf Carnap at Chicago, with Kurt Gödel at the Institute for Advanced Study, and with Carl Gustav Hempel at Princeton.

Among his many publications are such works as The Logic of Decision (McGraw Hill 1965), a collection of essays entitled Probability and the Art of Judgment (Cambridge 1992), and also two textbooks entitled Formal Logic: Its Scope and Limits (McGraw Hill, first edition 1967) and Computability and Logic, with G. Boolos (first published in 1974).

Richard Jeffrey passed away on November 9, 2002.

Scope and Content Notes

The Jeffrey Papers include biographical material, correspondence, research and lecture notes, teaching documents, and drafts of published and unpublished writings by Jeffrey and others. Series I comprises biographical information. Included in the correspondence series (Series II) are extensive exchanges with Jeffrey's close colleagues, teachers, friends, and collaborators such as Rudolf Carnap, Carl Gustav Hempel, and Brian Skyrms. Materials in the research series (Series III) range from sketchy outlines, typescripts and documents reflecting Jeffrey's collaborations with Carnap, to numerous grant proposals and projects that are indicative of Jeffrey's research interests at the time. Series IV focuses on Jeffrey's writings and publications including manuscript drafts, lecture notes, and his editorial work, which centers mainly on the publication of Hempel's Selected Philosophical Essays. Series V covers material from Jeffrey's teaching activities, such as syllabi, teaching notes, reading lists, and exams. Series VI contains writings by others in form of unpublished drafts or annotated published pieces.

Arrangement

Below is an overview of the general series structure. Detailed scope and content notes are available at the series and subseries level:

Series I. Biographical Material

Series II. Correspondence

Series III. Research

Series IV. Writings, Lectures, and Publications

Series V. Teaching

Series VI. Writings by Others

Please note that typescripts that were originally enclosed with correspondence usually stayed with the correspondence. Published articles were removed and, if annotated, filed under the author's last name in the series "Writings by Others." We therefore advise users to look under the author's name in both the correspondence and the writings series when trying to locate an article.

Access Restrictions

Access to the collection is open for research with the following exceptions: Letters of recommendation and some individual files in the general correspondence series are closed. Access to material in the teaching series and to some files in the correspondence series is restricted; requests are subject to individual review by curator. Please contact the Archives of Scientific Philosophy for additional information.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Edith Jeffrey on August 6, 2003.

Previous Citation

Richard C. Jeffrey Papers, 1934-2002, ASP.2003.02, Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh.

Preferred Citation

Richard C. Jeffrey Papers, 1934-2002, ASP.2003.02, Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Brigitta Arden in July 2006.

Copyright

Property rights reside with the University of Pittsburgh. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Archives of Scientific Philosophy.

Related Material

Rudolf Carnap Papers, 1899-1970, ASP.1974.01, Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Archives & Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Carl Gustav Hempel Papers, 1903-1997, ASP.1999.01, Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Archives & Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Bruno de Finetti Papers, 1924-2000, ASP.1992.01, Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Archives & Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Princeton University -- Faculty

    Personal Names

    • De Finetti, Bruno
    • Jeffrey, Richard C.
    • Skyrms, Brian
    • Hempel, Carl G. (Carl Gustav)
    • Carnap, Rudolf

    Genres

    • Personal correspondence
    • Offprints
    • Manuscripts for publication
    • Lecture notes

    Other Subjects

    • Probabilities
    • Judgment
    • Bayesian statistical decision theory
    • Logic
    • Logical positivism
    • Logic, Symbolic and mathematical
    • Statistical decision
    • Decision-making
    • Induction (Logic)
    • Science -- Statistical methods
    • Mathematical statistics
    • Empiricism
    • Philosophy
    • Causality (Physics)

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