This book constitutes the strictly refereed post-workshop proceedings of the 11th International Workshop on Computer Science Logic, CSL '97, held as the 1997 Annual Conference of the European Association on Computer Science Logic, EACSL, in Aarhus, Denmark, in August 1997. The volume presents 26 revised full papers selected after two rounds of refereeing from initially 92 submissions; also included are four invited papers. The book addresses all current aspects of computer science logics and its (...) applications and thus presents the state of the art in the area. (shrink)

Colburn (computer science, U. of Minnesota-Duluth) has a doctorate in philosophy and an advanced degree in computer science; he's worked as a philosophy professor, a computer programmer, and a research scientist in artificial intelligence. Here he discusses the philosophical foundations of artificial intelligence; the new encounter of science and philosophy (logic, models of the mind and of reasoning, epistemology); and the philosophy of computer science (touching on math, abstraction, software, and ontology).

This reader contains the extended abstracts of the seminars organised for the “Computer Science and IT with/for Biology” Seminar Series, held at the Faculty of Computer Science, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, from October to December 2005. Slides of the presentations are available online at: www.inf.unibz.it/krdb/biology.

This volume presents the proceedings of the Computer Science Logic Workshop CSL '92, held in Pisa, Italy, in September/October 1992. CSL '92 was the sixth of the series and the first one held as Annual Conference of the European Association for Computer Science Logic (EACSL). Full versions of the workshop contributions were collected after their presentation and reviewed. On the basis of 58 reviews, 26 papers were selected for publication, and appear here in revised final form. (...) Topics covered in the volume include: Turing machines, linear logic, logic of proofs, optimization problems, lambda calculus, fixpoint logic, NP-completeness, resolution, transition system semantics, higher order partial functions, evolving algebras, functional logic programming, inductive definability, semantics of C, classes for a functional language, NP-optimization problems, theory of types and names, sconing and relators, 3-satisfiability, Kleene's slash, negation-complete logic programs, polynomial-time oracle machines, and monadic second-order properties. (shrink)

What do philosophy and computer science have in common? It turns out, quite a lot! In providing an introduction to computer science (using Python), Daniel Lim presents in this book key philosophical issues, ranging from external world skepticism to the existence of God to the problem of induction. These issues, and others, are introduced through the use of critical computational concepts, ranging from image manipulation to recursive programming to elementary machine learning techniques. In illuminating some of (...) the overlapping conceptual spaces of computer science and philosophy, Lim teaches readers fundamental programming skills and allows them to develop the critical thinking skills essential for examining some of the enduring questions of philosophy. (shrink)

Computational methods such as computer simulations, Monte Carlo methods, and agent-based modeling have become the dominant techniques in many areas of science. Extending Ourselves contains the first systematic philosophical account of these new methods, and how they require a different approach to scientific method. Paul Humphreys draws a parallel between the ways in which such computational methods have enhanced our abilities to mathematically model the world, and the more familiar ways in which scientific instruments have expanded our access (...) to the empirical world. This expansion forms the basis for a new kind of empiricism, better suited to the needs of science than the older anthropocentric forms of empiricism. Human abilities are no longer the ultimate standard of epistemological correctness.Humphreys also includes arguments for the primacy of properties rather than objects, the need to consider technological constraints when appraising scientific methods, and a detailed account of how the path from computational template to scientific application is constructed. This last feature allows us to hold a form of selective realism in which anti-realist arguments based on formal reconstructions of theories can be avoided. One important consequence of the rise of computational methods is that the traditional organization of the sciences is being replaced by an organization founded on computational templates.Extending Ourselves will be of interest to philosophers of science, epistemologists, and to anyone interested in the role played by computers in modern science. (shrink)

The related fields of fractal image encoding and fractal image analysis have blossomed in recent years. This book, originating from a NATO Advanced Study Institute held in 1995, presents work by leading researchers. It is developing the subjects at an introductory level, but it also has some recent and exciting results in both fields. The book contains a thorough discussion of fractal image compression and decompression, including both continuous and discrete formulations, vector space and hierarchical methods, and algorithmic optimizations. The (...) book also discusses multifractal approaches to image analysis, segmentation, and recognition, including medical applications. (shrink)

This festschrift volume is dedicated to Boris (Boaz) Trakhtenbrot on the occasion of his 85th birthday. For over half a century, Trakhtenbrot has been making seminal contributions to virtually all of the central areas of theoretical computer science. He is universally admired as a founding father and long-standing pillar of the discipline of computer science. On Friday, 28 April 2006, the School of Computer Science at Tel Aviv University held a “Computation Day Celebrating Boaz (...) (Boris) Trakhtenbrot's Eighty-Fifth Birthday”. As a follow-up to that event, his students and colleagues were asked to contribute to a volume in his honor and in recognition of his grand contributions to the field. The book opens with two historical overviews and a bibliography. These are followed by 33 thoroughly reviewed technical contributions. The broad range of topics covered include mathematical logic, logics for computer science, mathematics for computer science, automata and formal languages, asynchronous computation, semantics of programming languages, verification, and software engineering. This tapestry of subjects stands as testimony to the vast scope of Trakhtenbrot's achievements and the profound influence he has had on the field. (shrink)

An excessive preoccupation with formalism is impeding the development of computer science. Form- content confusion is discussed relative to three areas: theory of computation, programming languages, and education.

The Annual Conference of the European Association for Computer Science Logic, CSL 2002, was held in the Old College of the University of Edinburgh on 22–25 September 2002. The conference series started as a programme of Int- national Workshops on Computer Science Logic, and then in its sixth meeting became the Annual Conference of the EACSL. This conference was the sixteenth meeting and eleventh EACSL conference; it was organized by the Laboratory for Foundations of Computer (...) Science at the University of Edinburgh. The CSL 2002 Programme Committee considered 111 submissions from 28 countries during a two week electronic discussion; each paper was refereed by at least three reviewers. The Committee selected 37 papers for presentation at the conference and publication in these proceedings. The Programme Committee invited lectures from Susumu Hayashi, Frank Neven, and Damian Niwinski; ́ the papers provided by the invited speakers appear at the front of this volume. In addition to the main conference, two tutorials – ‘Introduction to Mu- Calculi’ and ‘Parametrized Complexity’ – were given on the previous day. (shrink)

We characterize abstraction in computer science by first comparing the fundamental nature of computer science with that of its cousin mathematics. We consider their primary products, use of formalism, and abstraction objectives, and find that the two disciplines are sharply distinguished. Mathematics, being primarily concerned with developing inference structures, has information neglect as its abstraction objective. Computer science, being primarily concerned with developing interaction patterns, has information hiding as its abstraction objective. We show that (...) abstraction through information hiding is a primary factor in computer science progress and success through an examination of the ubiquitous role of information hiding in programming languages, operating systems, network architecture, and design patterns. (shrink)

Computational philosophy is the use of mechanized computational techniques to unearth philosophical insights that are either difficult or impossible to find using traditional philosophical methods. Computational metaphysics is computational philosophy with a focus on metaphysics. In this paper, we (a) develop results in modal metaphysics whose discovery was computer assisted, and (b) conclude that these results work not only to the obvious benefit of philosophy but also, less obviously, to the benefit of computer science, since the new (...) computational techniques that led to these results may be more broadly applicable within computer science. The paper includes a description of our background methodology and how it evolved, and a discussion of our new results. (shrink)

Preface -- 1. Propositional logic : proofs from axioms and inference rules -- 2. First order logic : proofs with quantifiers -- 3. Set theory : proofs by detachment, contraposition, and contradiction -- 4. Mathematical induction : definitions and proofs by induction -- 5. Well-formed sets : proofs by transfinite induction with already well-ordered sets -- 6. The axiom of choice : proofs by transfinite induction -- 7. applications : Nobel-Prize winning applications of sets, functions, and relations -- 8. Solutions (...) to some odd-numbered exercises. (shrink)

This volume presents the proceedings of the workshop CSL '91 (Computer Science Logic) held at the University of Berne, Switzerland, October 7-11, 1991. This was the fifth in a series of annual workshops on computer sciencelogic (the first four are recorded in LNCS volumes 329, 385, 440, and 533). The volume contains 33 invited and selected papers on a variety of logical topics in computer science, including abstract datatypes, bounded theories, complexity results, cut elimination, denotational (...) semantics, infinitary queries, Kleene algebra with recursion, minimal proofs, normal forms in infinite-valued logic, ordinal processes, persistent Petri nets, plausibility logic, program synthesis systems, quantifier hierarchies, semantics of modularization, stable logic, term rewriting systems, termination of logic programs, transitive closure logic, variants of resolution, and many others. (shrink)

What is computer-science about? CS is obviously the science of computers. But what exactly are computers? We know that there are physical computers, and, perhaps, also abstract computers. Let us limit the discussion here to physical entities and ask: What are physical computers? What does it mean for a physical entity to be a computer? The answer, it seems, is that physical computers are physical dynamical systems that implement formal entities such as Turing-machines. I do not (...) think that this answer is false. But it invites another, and troubling, question: What distinguishes computers from other physical dynamical systems? The difficulty is that, on the one hand, every physical system im-plements abstract formal entities such as sets of differential equations, while on the other hand we certainly do not want to count every dynamical system as a computer. After all, if CS is somehow distinctive, then there must be a difference between computers and other systems such as solar systems, stomachs, and carburetors. But what is the difference? (shrink)

This paper aims to connect Stiegler’s reflections on theoretical computer science with his practical propositions for the design of digital technologies. Indeed, Stiegler’s theory of exosomatization implies a new conception of artificial intelligence, which is not based on an analogical paradigm (which compares organisms and machines, as in cybernetics, or which compares thought and computing, as in cognitivism) but on an organological paradigm, which studies the co-evolution of living organisms (individuals), artificial organs (tools), and social organizations (institutions). Such (...) a perspective does not compare human capacities to machine performances but studies the way in which the evolution of material and technical supports affects and transforms psychological, cognitive or noetic faculties (intuition, memory, understanding, imagination, sensibility, reason, etc.), as well as the constitution of different kinds of knowledge. This new theoretical paradigm implies a new ‘design’ for digital technologies, which considers their social role and their impact on psychological, cognitive or noetic faculties. (shrink)

The simulation hypothesis has recently excited renewed interest, especially in the physics and philosophy communities. However, the hypothesis specifically concerns {computers} that simulate physical universes, which means that to properly investigate it we need to couple computer science theory with physics. Here I do this by exploiting the physical Church-Turing thesis. This allows me to introduce a preliminary investigation of some of the computer science theoretic aspects of the simulation hypothesis. In particular, building on Kleene's second (...) recursion theorem, I prove that it is mathematically possible for us to be in a simulation that is being run on a computer \textit{by us}. In such a case, there would be two identical instances of us; the question of which of those is ``really us'' is meaningless. I also show how Rice's theorem provides some interesting impossibility results concerning simulation and self-simulation; briefly describe the philosophical implications of fully homomorphic encryption for (self-)simulation; briefly investigate the graphical structure of universes simulating universes simulating universes, among other issues. I end by describing some of the possible avenues for future research that this preliminary investigation reveals. (shrink)

There are many branches of philosophy called “the philosophy of X,” where X = disciplines ranging from history to physics. The philosophy of artificial intelligence has a long history, and there are many courses and texts with that title. Surprisingly, the philosophy of computer science is not nearly as well-developed. This article proposes topics that might constitute the philosophy of computer science and describes a course covering those topics, along with suggested readings and assignments.

I critically review Raymond Turner’s Computational Artifacts – Towards a Philosophy of Computer Science by placing beside his position a rather different one, according to which computer science is a branch of, and is therefore subsumed by, immaterial formal logic.

Introduction: towards a dialogue of the theological and the computational -- What is digital theology? -- Why explore digital theology? -- How to research digital theology? -- What might the future of digital theology look like? -- Conclusion.

F. H. George is Professor of Cybernetics at Brunel University in England. His book comprises eight chapters originally developed as lectures for a non-specialist audience. He points out the position of computer science among the sciences, explains its aims, procedures, and achievements to date, and speculates on its long-term implications for science in particular and society in general. Among the topics discussed are biological simulation and organ replacement, automated education, and the new philosophy of science. Each (...) chapter concludes with a brief summary. George's treatment of the technical details of his speciality is both illuminating and readable, thus serving as an excellent primer on one of the new technology's most important components. His wider forays into philosophy, economics, sociology, and religion are less happy, however; and unfortunately they take up a large part of the text. In general, they reveal that George identifies the methods of human advancement with the methods of the natural sciences in an equation whose rigidity would make even B. F. Skinner blush. Yet, the reader cannot claim that he was not forewarned; for in the introduction, D. J. Stewart, Chairman of the Rationalist Press Association, suggests that the current "swing of interest among young people away from the physical and biological sciences and towards the behavioural and social sciences... represents a symptom of disillusionment with science and technology and an attempted escape into irrationality."--J. M. V. (shrink)

The prelims comprise: Introduction Computer Science and Mathematics The Formal Verification Debate Abstraction in Computer Science Conclusion.

Recently, information retrieval is shown to be a science by mapping information retrieval scientific study to scientific study abstracted from physics. The exercise was rather tedious and lengthy. Instead of dealing with the nitty gritty, this paper looks at the insights into how computer science can be made into a science by using that methodology. That is by mapping computer science scientific study to the scientific study abstracted from physics. To show the mapping between (...) computer science and physics, we need to define what is engineering science which computer science belongs to. Some principles and assumptions of engineering science theory are presented. To show computer science is a science, we presented two approaches. Approach 1 considers computer science as simulation of human behaviour similar to the goal of artificial intelligence. Approach 2 is closely related to the actual activities in computer science, and this approach considers computer science based on the theory of computation. Finally, we answer some of the common outstanding issues about computer science to convince our reader that computer science is a science. (shrink)

There is a widely extended image of computer software as some sort of ‘black box,’ where it does not matter how it internally works, but rather what sort of results are obtained given certain input values. By approaching computer software this way, many philosophical issues are hidden, neglected, or simply misunderstood. This article discusses three units of analysis of computer software, namely, specifications, algorithms, and computer processes. The aim is to understand the scientific and engineering practices (...) supporting each unit of analysis, as well as to analyze their methodology, ontology, and epistemology. (shrink)

This paper contains a discussion of striking similarities between influential philosophical concepts of the past and the approaches currently employed in selected areas of computer science. In particular, works of the Pythagoreans, Plato, Abelard, Ash’arites, Malebranche and Berkeley are presented and contrasted with such computer science ideas as digital computers, object-oriented programming, the modelling of an object’s actions and causality in virtual environments, and 3D graphics rendering. The intention of this paper is to provoke the (...) class='Hi'>computer science community to go off the beaten path in order to find inspiration for the development of new approaches in software engineering. (shrink)

The article deals with Russian scientific classifications (GRNTI, VAK) of computer science in comparison with Western scien­tific classifications Fields of Science and Technology (FOS) and Universal Decimal Classification (UDS). The author analyzes the basics and principles of these classifications, identifies their strong and weak points as well as their influence on the devel­opment of computer sciences. She also provides some recom­mendations on adjustments of Russian scientific classifications aiming to make them more flexible and adaptive to the (...) faster scientific and technological development and interdisciplinary cooperation. (shrink)

Epistemic logic has grown from its philosophical beginnings to find diverse applications in computer science, and as a means of reasoning about the knowledge and belief of agents. This book provides a broad introduction to the subject, along with many exercises and their solutions. The authors begin by presenting the necessary apparatus from mathematics and logic, including Kripke semantics and the well-known modal logics K, T, S4 and S5. Then they turn to applications in the context of distributed (...) systems and artificial intelligence. These include the notions of common knowledge, distributed knowledge, explicit and implicit belief, the interplays between knowledge and time, and knowledge and action, as well as a graded (or numerical) variant of the epistemic operators. The authors also discuss extensively the problem of logical omniscience. They cover Halpern & Moses' theory of honest formulas, and they make a digression into the realm of nonmonotonic reasoning and preferential entailment. They discuss Moore's autoepistemic logic, together with Levesque's related logic of "all I know". Furthermore, they show how one can base default and counterfactual reasoning on epistemic logic. Graduate students in philosophy or in computer science, especially those with an interest in AI, will find this book useful. (shrink)

We examine the philosophical disputes among computer scientists concerning methodological, ontological, and epistemological questions: Is computer science a branch of mathematics, an engineering discipline, or a natural science? Should knowledge about the behaviour of programs proceed deductively or empirically? Are computer programs on a par with mathematical objects, with mere data, or with mental processes? We conclude that distinct positions taken in regard to these questions emanate from distinct sets of received beliefs or paradigms within (...) the discipline: – The rationalist paradigm, which was common among theoretical computer scientists, defines computer science as a branch of mathematics, treats programs on a par with mathematical objects, and seeks certain, a priori knowledge about their ‘correctness’ by means of deductive reasoning. – The technocratic paradigm, promulgated mainly by software engineers and has come to dominate much of the discipline, defines computer science as an engineering discipline, treats programs as mere data, and seeks probable, a posteriori knowledge about their reliability empirically using testing suites. – The scientific paradigm, prevalent in the branches of artificial intelligence, defines computer science as a natural (empirical) science, takes programs to be entities on a par with mental processes, and seeks a priori and a posteriori knowledge about them by combining formal deduction and scientific experimentation. We demonstrate evidence corroborating the tenets of the scientific paradigm, in particular the claim that program-processes are on a par with mental processes. We conclude with a discussion in the influence that the technocratic paradigm has been having over computer science. (shrink)

In this paper I hope to show that the idea of teaching philosophy through teaching computer science is a project worth pursuing. In the first section I will sketch a variety of ways in which philosophy and computer science might interact. Then I will give a brief rationale for teaching philosophy through teaching computer science. Then I will introduce three philosophical issues (among others) that have pedagogically useful analogues in computer science: (i) (...) external world skepticism, (ii) numerical vs. qualitative identity, and (iii) the existence of God. (shrink)

This Handbook is a combination of authoritative exposition, comprehensive survey, and fundamental research exploring the underlying unifying themes in the various areas. The intended audience is graduate students and researchers in the areas of computing and logic, as well as other people interested in the subject. We assume as background some mathematical sophistication. Much of the material will also be of interest to logicians and mathematicians.

The main search engine has been changed (including RSS queries). The default logic operator is "OR" now (may look strange when results are sorted by year). Please report all noticed errors, misfeatures or omissions you notice. Thanks!

The essays included in the special issue dedicated to the philosophy of computer science examine new philosophical questions that arise from reflection upon conceptual issues in computer science and the insights such an enquiry provides into ongoing philosophical debates.

Depending on what one means by the main connective of logic, the -if..., then... -, several systems of logic result: classic and modal logics, intuitionistic logic or relevance logic. This book presents the underlying ideas, the syntax and the semantics of these logics. Soundness and completeness are shown constructively and in a uniform way. Attention is paid to the interdisciplinary role of logic: its embedding in the foundations of mathematics and its intimate connection with philosophy, in particular the philosophy of (...) language. Set theory is presented both as a conditio sine qua non for logic and as a interesting exact ontology. The study of infinite sets yields perplexing results. Formalization of informal number theory results in formal number theory; Godel's incompleteness is treated. At appropriate places attention is paid to paradoxes, intuitionism, conditionals, the historical development of logic, to logic programming and automated theorem proving for classical logic.". (shrink)

The process of constructing mathematical models is examined and a case made that the construction process is an integral part of the justification for the model. The role of heuristics in testing and modifying models is described and some consequences for scientific methodology are drawn out. Three different ways of constructing the same model are detailed to demonstrate the claims made here.