Название: Philosophy through Computer Science: An Introduction
Автор: Daniel Lim
Издательство: Routledge
Год: 2023
Страниц: 287
Язык: английский
Формат: pdf (true)
Размер: 10.1 MB

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.

So, how can we harness this amazing power that is latent in every computer? How can we make it do what we want? The answer is through programming languages. In this book, we will be using the Python programming language to introduce computer programming. It is important to remember, however, that this is not a book about Python. There are many other books that provide a more comprehensive and detailed introduction to Python. Here, it is used as a tool to get a handle on the basics of writing programs and the general skills involved in computational thinking. The hope is that you will develop a sense for how to deal with and program computers—a transferrable skill that can be deployed through the application of any other programming language. Moreover, we want to use the computational concepts acquired in this process to introduce (and explore) some classic philosophical issues. So, don’t expect this book to cover every feature of the Python programming language—plenty will be left out! There are at least two reasons why Python was chosen for this book. First, it is relatively easy to understand and the learning curve is lower than other languages like Java or C++. Second, it is arguably the most popular programming language in the world.

Key Features:

Teaches readers actual computer programming, not merely ideas about computers
Includes fun programming projects (like digital image manipulation and Game of Life simulation), allowing the reader to develop the ability to write larger computer programs that require decomposition, abstraction, and algorithmic thinking
Uses computational concepts to introduce, clarify, and develop a variety of philosophical issues
Covers various aspects of machine learning and relates them to philosophical issues involving science and induction as well as to ethical issues
Provides a framework to critically analyze arguments in classic and contemporary philosophical debates

Contents: