Philosophy and Computing ― Essays in Epistemology, Philosophy of Mind, Logic, and Ethics

This book features papers from CEPE-IACAP 2015, a joint international conference focused on the philosophy of computing. Inside, readers will discover essays that explore current issues in epistemology, philosophy of mind, logic, and philosophy of science from the lens of computation. Coverage also examines applied issues related to ethical, social, and political interest.

The contributors first explore how computation has changed philosophical inquiry. Computers are now capable of joining humans in exploring foundational issues. Thus, we can ponder machine-generated explanation, thought, agency, and other quite fascinating concepts.

The papers are also concerned with normative aspects of the computer and information technology revolution. They examine technology-specific analyses of key challenges, from Big Data to autonomous robots to expert systems for infrastructure control and financial services.

The virtue of a collection that ranges over philosophical questions, such as this one does, lies in the prospects for a more integrated understanding of issues. These are early days in the partnership between philosophy and information technology. Philosophers and researchers are still sorting out many foundational issues. They will need to deploy all of the tools of philosophy to establish this foundation. This volume admirably showcases those tools in the hands of some excellent scholars.

Thomas M. Powers is the founding director of the Center for Science, Ethics, and Public Policy at the University of Delaware. He holds appointments as Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department and the Delaware Biotechnology Institute. His research concerns ethics in science and engineering, the philosophy of technology, and environmental ethics, and his publications range from topics in artificial intelligence and robotic ethics to the ethical aspects of design. Powers received a B.A. in philosophy (College of William and Mary) and a Ph.D. in philosophy (University of Texas at Austin). He has been a DAAD-Fulbright dissertation-year fellow at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat in Munich, a National Science Foundation fellow in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia, and a visiting researcher (2015) at the Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Laboratoire d'Informatique – Equipe: Agents Cognitifs et A

pprentissage Symbolique Automatique.