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Philosophy And The Computer
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Book Description
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.
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.
Author(s)
Biography
Leslie Burkholder