The Digital Phoenix: How Computers are Changing Philosophy

The information revolution is dramatically changing the world, and philosophy is no exception. Computer technology is changing the professional activities of philosophers, including how they do research, how they cooperate with each other, and how they teach their university courses. Most importantly, computers are having a significant impact upon foundational concepts in philosophy, such as the mind, consciousness, reasoning, logic, knowledge, truth and creativity. This important book, which results from a series of presentations at American Philosophical Association conferences, explores the major ways in which computers are changing philosophy.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: How Computers are Changing Philosophy: Terrell Ward Bynum (Southern Connecticut State University) and James H. Moor (Dartmouth College). Part I: The Impact of Computing on Philosophical Issues:. 1. Procedural Epistemology: John L. Pollock (University of Arizona, USA). 2. Epistemology and Computing: Henry Kyburg (University of Rochester, USA). 3. Computation and the Philosophy of Science: Paul Thagard (University of Waterloo, Canada). 4. Anomaly--driven Theory Redesign: Computational Philosophy of Science Experiments: Lindley Darden (University of Maryland, USA). 5. Representation of Philosophical Argumentation: Theodore Scaltsas (University of Edinburgh, UK). 6. Computers, Visualization, and the Nature of Reasoning: Jon Barwise (Indiana University at Bloomington, USA) and John Etchemendy (Stanford University, USA). 7. Digital Metaphysics: Eric Steinhart (William Paterson University, USA). 8. Philosophical Content and Method of Artificial Life: Mark A. Bedau (Reed College, USA). 9. The Neural Representation of the Social World: Paul M. Churchland (University of California at San Diego, USA). 10. Qualitative Experience in Machines: William Lycan (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA). 11. Response to my Critics: Hubert Dreyfus (University of California at Berkeley, USA). 12. Assessing Artificial Intelligence and Its Critics: James H. Moor (Dartmouth College, USA). 13. Philosophy and "Super" Computation: Selmer Bringsjord (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA). 14. Philosophy and Computer Science: Reflections on the Program Verification Debate: James H. Fetzer (University of Minnesota at Duluth, USA). 15. Global Information Ethics: Terrell Ward Bynum (Southern Connecticut State University, USA). 16. How Computers Extend Artificial Morality: Peter Danielson (University of British Columbia, Canada). 17. Computing and Creativity: Margaret Boden (University of Sussex, UK). Part II: The Impact of Computing on Professional Philosophy:. 18. Teaching Philosophy in CyberSpace: Ron Barnette (Valdosta State University, USA). 19. Philosophy Teaching on the World--Wide--Web: John Dorbolo (Oregon State University, USA). 20. Multimedia and Research in Philosophy: Robert Cavalier (Carnegie Mellon University, USA). 21. Teaching of Philosophy with Multimedia: John L. Fodor (Educational Media Resources, USA). 22. Resources in Ethics on the World Wide Web: Lawrence M. Hinman (University of San Diego, USA). 23. The APA Internet Bulletin Board and Web Site: Saul Traiger (Occidental College, USA). 24. Using Computer Technology for Philosophical Research: An APA Report: Robert Cavalier (Carnegie Mellon University, USA). 25. Using Computer Technology for Teaching Philosophy: An APA Report: Ron Barnette (Valdosta State University, USA). 26. Using Computer Technology for Professional Cooperation: An APA Report: Lawrence M. Hinman (University of San Diego, USA). Index.

About the Author :
Terrell Ward Bynum is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Research Center on Computing and Society at Southern Connecticut State University. For 24 years, he was Editor--in--Chief of the scholarly journal Metaphilosophy. He is author, editor and translator of books and articles on computer ethics, philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics, artificial intelligence, developmental psychology and teaching philosophy. James H. Moor is a Professor of Philosophy at Dartmouth College; he has developed software for teaching logic and has published numerous articles in philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, logic, philosophy of artificial intelligence, and computer ethics.