Philosophy And The Computer

by Leslie Burkholder

Overview

The contributors set out to demonstrate the influence of the computer - not just in the philosophy of mind, where the influence has been enormous, but also in epistemology, metaphysics, logic and the philosophy of mathematics. Even ethics and ethical reasoning have been explored through the use of the computer. Indeed, the lead contribution by Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon argues that it is no exaggeration to speak of a "computational turn" in philosophy to match the much-celebrated (and maligned) "linguistic turn" of a previous generation. Of particular interest are the examinations of the wide range of applications of computational methods, the innovative instructional computer programs, and the discussions of the ethical implications of computer use.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367282875
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/28/2020
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Part 1 Epistemology and metaphysics: the computer as a laboratory for epistemology, Herbert Simon; philosophical challenges in distributed computing, Peter Barnett; SNePS - a fully intensional propositional semantic network, Stuart C. Shapiro, William J. Rapaport; the structure of extension, Christopher J. Thornton. Part 2 Philosophy of mind: representational genera, John Haugeland; the wanton module and the frame problem, Eric Dietrick and Chris Fields; why thinking isn't computing, Daryl Close; the secret operations of the mind, Saul Trager. Part 3 Logic: searching for proofs (in sentimental logic), Wilfried Sieg and Richard Scheines; some problems on the computational representation of inference, Tryg Ager; selecting a contradiction in natural deduction theorem proving, Andrew McCafferty; automated translation from English to logic and back, Herbert E. Hendry and Joseph F. Hanna. Part 4 Algorithmics: a new paradigm for mathematics, Newcomb Greenleaf. Part 5 Ethics: should computer programs be ownable?, David H. Carey; moral responsibility and programming, Robert Zerwekh. Part 6 Computer-assisted instruction: learning ethnical decision-making, Pieter Mostert et al; finite structures in SYMLOG, Frederic D. Portoraro; an interface for deductive proof construction, Marvin J. Croy; Socratic dialogue, Don Barker and Stephen Scott; proof designer, Mark Bedau and James Moor.

Editorial Reviews

Explores how computers have changed the thinking in the major branches of philosophy. Most of the 15 papers are from a 1989 conference in Pittsburgh; four are previously published. For computer literate philosophers and philosophically bent computer scientists, they cover epistemology and language, the mind, logic and mathematics, and computer-assisted instruction. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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