Overview

"Philosophical modelling is as old as philosophy itself; examples range from Plato's ""Cave and the Divided Line"" to Rawls's original position. What is new are the computational resources now available for philosophical modelling. Although the computer cannot offer a substitute for philosophical research, it can offer an new environment within which to do that research. The authors present a series of exploratory examples of computer modelling, using a range of computational techniques to illuminate a variety of questions in philosophy and philosophical logic. Topics include self-reference and paradox in fuzzy logics, varieties of epistemic chaos, fractal images of formal systems, and cellular automata models in game theory. Examples in the last category include models for the evolution of generosity, possible causes and cures for discrimination, and the formal undecidability of patterns of social and biological interaction. The cross-platform CD-ROM provided with the book contains a variety of working examples, in colour and often operating dynamically, embedded in a text that parallels that of the book. Source code of example programs is included to facilitate further research."

Full Product Details

Author:   Patrick Grim (Suny/Stony Brook) ,  Gary R. Mar ,  Paul St. Denis ,  Group for Logic and Formal Semantics
Publisher:   MIT Press Ltd
Imprint:   MIT Press
Edition:   New ed.
Dimensions:   Width: 18.00cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 25.70cm
Weight:   0.976kg
ISBN:  

9780262071857

ISBN 10:   0262071851
Pages:   333
Publication Date:   14 May 1998
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   No Longer Our Product
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

"Part 1 Chaos, fractals and the semantics of paradox: from the bivalent liar to dynamical semantics; the simple liar in infinite-valued logic; some quasi-paradoxical sentences; the chaotic and logistic liars; chaotic dualists and strange attractors; fractals in the semantics of paradox; the triplist and three-dimensional attractors; philosophical and metalogical applications. Part 2 Notes on epistemic dynamics: toward a simple model - some basic concepts; self-reference and reputation -the simplest cases; epistemic dynamics with multiple inputs; tangled reference to reputation; conclusion. Part 3 Fractal images of formal systems: the example of tic-tac-toe; ""rug"" enumeration images; tautology fractals; the Sierpinski triangle - a paradoxical introduction; a Sierpinski tautology map; value solids and multi-valued logics; cellular automata in value space; conclusion. Part 4 The evolution of generosity in a Hobbesian model: the prisoner's dilemma; classical strategies in iteration; generosity in an imperfect world; spatialization of the prisoner's dilemma; a note on some deeper strategies; greater generosity in an imperfect spatial world; conclusion. Part 5 Real-valued game theory - real life, cooperative chaos and discrimination: real life; chaotic currents in real life; real-valued prisoner's dilemmas; PAVLOV and other two-dimensional strategies; cooperative chaos in infinite-valued logic; the problem of discrimination; continuity in cooperation, the ""veil of ignorance"" and forgiveness; conclusion. Part 6 Computation and undecidability in the spatialized prisoner's dilemma: undecidability and the prisoner's dilemma; two abstract machines; computation and undecidability in competitive cellular automata; computation and undecidability in the spatialized prisoner's dilemma; appendix A -competitive strategies adequate for a Minsky register machine; appendix B - an algebraic treatment for competitive strategies."

Reviews

"""This is a delightful introduction to the philosophical research toolhiding underneath your word processor."" Brian Skyrms , Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Irvine"

This is a delightful introduction to the philosophical research tool hiding underneath your word processor. --Brian Skyrms, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Irvine

This is a delightful introduction to the philosophical research toolhiding underneath your word processor. Brian Skyrms , Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Irvine

Author Information

Patrick Grim is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

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