The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Computing and Information
Presentation
Dr
Luciano Floridi
Departments of Philosophy and Computer
Science,
University of Oxford
Email: luciano.floridi@philosophy.oxford.ac.uk
Web: www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/~floridi
General Description of the Series
Written by an international assembly of distinguished philosophers, the Blackwell Philosophy Guides create a groundbreaking student resource – a complete critical survey of the central themes and issues of philosophy today. Focusing and advancing key arguments throughout, each essay incorporates essential background material serving to clarify the history and logic of the relevant topic. Accordingly, these volumes will be a valuable resource for a broad range of students and readers, including professional philosophers.
Computing and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) have shaped the second half of the twentieth century irreversibly and more profoundly than any other science or technology. What we call the information society has been brought about by the fastest growing technology in history. No previous generation has ever been exposed to such an extraordinary acceleration of technological power and corresponding social changes. The scale and level of complexity of many present-day activities and processes in education, science, industry, commerce, logistics and government would be unattainable without computers and electronic information infrastructures. In the course of this radical process of transformation, the information revolution has given rise to a whole new range of theoretical problems and conceptual issues. Some classic problems and traditional subjects in philosophy have been so transformed that they have acquired innovative features and new meanings, while information-theoretic methodologies have made possible new approaches. As a result, a new and vitally important area of research has emerged, the Philosophy of Computing and Information. The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Computing & Information is a unique collection of up-to-date essays that address all the core issues in the field, systematically and comprehensively. By bringing together, for the first time, original contributions of many of the world’s most distinguished specialists in the various areas of this new field, the volume provides a first-rate, invaluable introduction to a fundamental area of research that is constantly growing.
The volume consists of 26 extended essays, distributed along 8 sections (see the enclosed Table of Contents for a detailed analysis of the structure). It can be read straight through, from beginning to end, yet the modular structure, coupled with a descriptive outline of contents at the beginning of each essay and bibliographies of relevant literature, means that the volume can also serve as an accessible work of reference, both for those beginning the study of the philosophy of information and for readers already familiar with some of the topics in the field.
A brief introduction maps out the philosophical subject and explains how the different areas relate to each other. The essays in the first section then provide an overview of the four key-concepts in the field: Computability, Complexity, System and Information. There follows six sections on
The volume ends with a Glossary of Technical Terms and the Index.
All essays will be newly written for this volume. Each essay will be introduced by a brief abstract (100/200 words), summarising the contents and main theses of the essay, and will contain a final, bibliographical section with mentioned sources and further readings, with brief, critical comments.
a) to provide a precise, clear and accessible analysis of the main topics, issues, philosophical perspectives, approaches and methodologies arising in the philosophy of computing and information
b) to make a substantial and constructive contribution to the current debates in the field
c) to offer a systematic treatment of the philosophical foundations of an information society and hence a philosophy for the information age
The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Computing & Information provides the first systematic and unified approach to information-based reflections and discussions in philosophy, for all those interested both in the conceptual aspects of computing and ICT and in their practical consequences. It will be the essential basis of any undergraduate and graduate course addressing the nature, role and impact of information and information-theoretic approaches in contemporary thought and society, and a major resource for any early stage of research in philosophy. It will be of great interest to students and professionals alike.