Abstract
In this paper we introduce three methods to approach philosophical problems informationally: Minimalism, the Method of Abstraction and Constructionism. Minimalism considers the specifications of the starting problems and systems that are tractable for a philosophical analysis. The Method of Abstraction describes the process of making explicit the level of abstraction at which a system is observed and investigated. Constructionism provides a series of principles that the investigation of the problem must fulfil once it has been fully characterised by the previous two methods. For each method, we also provide an application: the problem of visual perception, functionalism, and the Turing Test, respectively.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bechtel, W., Mundale, J.: Multiple realizability revisited: Linking cognitive and neural states. Philosophy of Science 66, 175–207 (1999)
Brooks, R.A.: Intelligence without representation. Artificial Intelligence 47(1-3), 139–159 (1991)
Chalmers, D.J.: The Conscious Mind: in Search of a Fundamental Theory. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1996)
Child, A.: Making and knowing in hobbes, vico, and dewey. University of California Publications in Philosophy 16(13), 271–310 (1953)
Cordeschi, R.: The Discovery of the Artificial: Behavior, Mind, and Machines Before and Beyond Cybernetics. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht (2002)
Floridi, L.: What is the philosophy of information? Metaphilosophy 33(1-2), 123–145 (2002)
Floridi, L.: On the logical unsolvability of the gettier problem. Synthese 142(1), 61–79 (2004)
Floridi, L.: Open problems in the philosophy of information. Metaphilosophy 35(4), 554–582 (2004)
Floridi, L., Sanders, J.W.: The method of abstraction. In: Negrotti, M. (ed.) Yearbook of the Artificial. Nature, Culture and Technology. Models in contemporary sciences, vol. 2, pp. 177–220. P. Lang, Bern (2004)
Gibson, J.J.: The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Houghton Mifflin, Boston (1979)
Greco, G.M., Paronitti, G., Turilli, M., Floridi, L.: The philosophy of information - a methodological point of view. In: Althoff, K.D., Dengel, A., Bergmann, R., Nick, M., Roth-Berghofer, T. (eds.) WM 2005: Professional Knowledge Management. Experiences and Visions, pp. 563–570. DFKI GmbH, Kaiserslautern (2005)
Grim, P.: Computational modeling as a philosophical methodology. In: Floridi, L. (ed.) The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Computing and Information, pp. 337–349. Blackwell, Oxford (2003)
Adams, M.M.: William Ockham. University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame (1987)
Newell, A., Simon, H.A.: Computer science as empirical enquiry: Symbols and search. Communications of the ACM 19(3), 113–126 (1976)
Noé, A., Thompson, E. (eds.): Vision and Mind: Selected Readings in the Philosophy of Perception. MIT Press, Cambridge (2002)
Pérez-Ramos, A.: Francis Bacon’s Idea of Science and the Maker’s Knowledge Tradition. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1988)
Putnam, H.: Psychological predicates. In: Captain, W.H., Merrill, D.D. (eds.) Art, Mind and Religion. Pittsburgh University Press, Pittsburgh (1967)
Quine, W.V.O.: Two dogmas of empiricism. The Philosophical Review 60(1), 20–43 (1951)
Raftopoulos, A.: Cartesian analysis and synthesis. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Part A 34(2), 265–308 (2003)
Rasmussen, S., Barrett, C.L.: Elements of a theory of simulation. In: Morà n, F., Moreno, J.J., Merelo, P., Chacòn, P. (eds.) ECAL 1995. Advances in Artificial Life: Proceedings of the Third European Conference on Artificial Life, pp. 515–529. Springer, Berlin (1995)
de Roever, W.P., Engelhardt, K.: Data Refinement: Model-oriented Proof Methods and their Comparison. Cambridge tracts in theoretical computer science. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1998)
Turing, A.M.: Computing machinery and intelligence. Mind 49(236), 433–460 (1950)
Zeigler, B.P.: Theory of Modelling and Simulation. Wiley, New York (1976)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Greco, G.M., Paronitti, G., Turilli, M., Floridi, L. (2005). How to Do Philosophy Informationally. In: Althoff, KD., Dengel, A., Bergmann, R., Nick, M., Roth-Berghofer, T. (eds) Professional Knowledge Management. WM 2005. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 3782. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11590019_70
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11590019_70
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-30465-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-31620-6
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)