Allan Gibbard

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Allan Gibbard
Born
Allan Fletcher Gibbard

(1942-04-07) April 7, 1942 (age 82)
NationalityAmerican
Academic background
Alma mater
ThesisUtilitarianisms and Coordination (1971)
Doctoral advisorJohn Rawls
Influences
Academic work
Discipline
Meta-ethics
  • social choice theory
    • Notable ideas
  • norm-expressivism
    • Websitewww-personal.umich.edu/~gibbard Edit this at Wikidata

    Allan Fletcher Gibbard (born 1942) is the

    Gibbard-Satterthwaite theorem,[2] which had been previously conjectured by Michael Dummett and Robin Farquharson.[3]

    Life and career

    Allan Fletcher Gibbard was born on April 7, 1942, in

    PhD, writing a dissertation under the direction of John Rawls
    .

    He served as professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago (1969–1974), and the University of Pittsburgh (1974–1977), before joining the University of Michigan where he spent the remainder of his career until his retirement in 2016. Gibbard chaired the University of Michigan's philosophy department (1987–1988) and has held the title of Richard B. Brandt Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy since 1994.

    Gibbard was elected a Fellow of the

    Tanner Lectures at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2006.[7]

    Philosophical work

    Social choice theory

    See also: Social choice theory

    Soon after his doctoral degree, Gibbard provided a first proof of a

    non-dictatorial voting systems with at least three choices, a conjecture of Michael Dummett and Robin Farquharson. This work would eventually become known as "Gibbard's theorem", published in 1973.[2] Mark Satterthwaite later worked on a similar theorem which he published in 1975.[8][9] Satterthwaite and Jean Marie Brin published a paper in 1978 describing Gibbard's and Satterthwaite's mathematical proofs as the "Gibbard–Satterthwaite theorem" and described its relationship to Arrow's impossibility theorem.[10]

    Gibbard's theorem

    Main article: Gibbard's theorem

    In the fields of mechanism design and social choice theory, "Gibbard's theorem" is a result proven by Gibbard in 1973.[2] It states that for any deterministic process of collective decision, at least one of the following three properties must hold:

    1. The process is dictatorial, i.e. there exists a distinguished agent who can impose the outcome;
    2. The process limits the possible outcomes to two options only;
    3. The process is open to
      strategic voting
      : once an agent has identified their preferences, it is possible that they have no action at their disposal that best defends these preferences irrespective of the other agents' actions.

    A corollary of this theorem is

    cardinal voting). Gibbard's theorem can be proven using Arrow's impossibility theorem
    .

    Gibbard's theorem is itself generalized by

    Hylland's theorem, which extend these results to non-deterministic processes, i.e. where the outcome may not only depend on the agents' actions but may also involve an element of chance. The Gibbard's theorem assumes the collective decision results in exactly one winner and does not apply to multi-winner voting
    .

    Gibbard–Satterthwaite theorem

    Main article: Gibbard–Satterthwaite theorem

    In social choice theory, the Gibbard–Satterthwaite theorem is a result published independently by Gibbard in 1973[12] and economist Mark Satterthwaite in 1975.[13] It deals with deterministic ordinal electoral systems that choose a single winner. It states that for every voting rule, one of the following three things must hold:

    1. The rule is dictatorial, i.e. there exists a distinguished voter who can choose the winner; or
    2. The rule limits the possible outcomes to two alternatives only; or
    3. The rule is susceptible to
      tactical voting
      : in certain conditions, a voter's sincere ballot may not best defend their opinion.

    While the scope of this theorem is limited to ordinal voting,

    Hylland's theorem
    are even more general and extend these results to non-deterministic processes, i.e. where the outcome may not only depend on the voters' actions but may also involve a part of chance.

    Ethical theory

    See also:
    Ethical theory

    Gibbard is best known in philosophy for his contributions to

    rational" or warranted we are expressing acceptance of a system of norms that permits it. More narrowly, morality is about norms relating to the aptness of moral feelings (such as guilt and resentment).[14]

    Gibbard's second book, Thinking How to Live (2003), offers an argument for reconfiguring the distinctions between

    descriptive discourse, with implications as to the "long-standing debate"[1] over "objectivity" in ethics and "factuality" in ethics.[15]

    Gibbard's third book, Reconciling Our Aims: In Search of Bases for Ethics (2008), from the

    Tanner Lectures, argues in favour of a broadly utilitarian approach to ethics.[16]

    Gibbard's fourth and most recent book is titled Meaning and Normativity (2012).[17]

    A recent review, including extensive citing of Gibbard's work above, is in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2015).[18]

    Interviews with Gibbard

    • Gibbard, Allan (2009). "A pragmatic justification of morality". In Voorhoeve, Alex (ed.). Conversations on ethics. Oxford University Press. pp. 157–178.
      ISBN 978-0-19-921537-9
      .

    See also

    References

    Footnotes

    1. ^ "Allan Gibbard Vita" (PDF). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
    2. ^
      JSTOR 1914083
      .
    3. S2CID 46164353
      .
    4. OCLC 502032895
      .
    5. ^ "72 New Members Chosen by Academy".
    6. ^ "Brian Skyrms, UC Irvine — Institute for Social Sciences".
    7. ^ "2005-2006 Lecture Series | Tanner Lectures".
    8. doi:10.1016/0022-0531(75)90050-2
      .
    9. ISBN 978-0-19-876188-4
      .
    10. ISSN 0047-2727
      .
    11. JSTOR 1914235.[permanent dead link
      ]
    12. JSTOR 1914083
      .
    13. doi:10.1016/0022-0531(75)90050-2
      .
    14. ^ Allan Gibbard (1990). Wise Choices, Apt Feelings. Description (from back cover), Contents, Description (from back cover) and Preface. Harvard University Press. On the book, comments of Simon Blackburn & John McDowell.
    15. ^ Allan Gibbard (2003). Thinking How to Live. Description, Contents, & Preface. Harvard University Press. Reviewed in Matthew Chrisman in (2005), "Allan Gibbard. 'Thinking How to Live'", Ethics, 115(2), pp. 406–412.
    16. ^ Allen Gibbard (2008). Reconciling Our Aims: In Search of Bases for Ethics. Description & Content. Oxford.
    17. ^ Allan Gibbard (2012). Meaning and Normativity. Description & Contents. Oxford University Press. Review at Christopher S. Hill (2013), "Allan Gibbard Meaning and Normativity," Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, July 20.
    18. ^ Mark van Roojen (2015). "Moral Cognitivism vs. Non-Cognitivism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2015 Edition), beginning at § 2.3 Quasi-realism, 2.4 Expressivism, & 2.5 Norm-expressivism and Plan-expressivism. Accessed 3/9/2016.

    General references

    External links
    Academic offices
    Preceded by Tanner Lecturer on Human Values
    at the University of California, Berkeley
    2006     		Succeeded by
    Professional and academic associations
    Preceded by President of the American Philosophical
    Association    , Central Division
    2001–2002     		Succeeded by
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