Creating Modern Probability

This is the only book to chart the history and development of modern probability theory. It shows how in the first thirty years of this century probability theory became a mathematical science. The author also traces the development of probabilistic concepts and theories in statistical and quantum physics. There are chapters dealing with chance phenomena, as well as the main mathematical theories of today, together with their foundational and philosophical problems. Among the theorists whose work is treated at some length are Kolmogorov, von Mises and de Finetti. The principal audience for the book comprises philosophers and historians of science, mathematicians concerned with probability and statistics, and physicists. The book will also interest anyone fascinated by twentieth-century scientific developments because the birth of modern probability is closely tied to the change from a determinist to an indeterminist world-view.

'… von Plato has consulted and drawn on a substantial body of archival material: letters, unpublished manuscripts, and drafts of later-published papers. Thus his book does not just (as is sometimes the case) simply revisit the standard chestnuts of the field, but substantially adds to our knowledge of them … In sum, this is a welcome addition to the literature: timely, informed, and technically competent.' Isis