Current issues in computing and philosophy : [essays presented at the fifth annual European Conference on Computing and Philosophy (ECAP) held in June 21-23, 2007, at the University of Twente, the Netherlands

The theme of this volume is the multi-faceted 'computational turn' that is occurring through the interaction of the disciplines of philosophy and computing. In computer and information sciences, there are significant conceptual and methodological questions that require reflection and analysis. Moreover, digital, information and communication technologies have had tremendous impact on society, which raises further philosophical questions. This book tries to facilitate the task to continuously work to ensure that its diversity of perspectives and methods proves a source of strength and collaboration rather than a source of instability and disintegration. The first three contributions explore the phenomenon of virtual worlds. The next four focus on robots and artificial agents. Then a group of chapters discusses the relation between human mentality and information processing in computers and the final section covers a broad range of issues at the interface of computers and society. IOS Press is an international science, technical and medical publisher of high-quality books for academics, scientists, and professionals in all fields. Some of the areas we publish in: -Biomedicine -Oncology -Artificial intelligence -Databases and information systems -Maritime engineering -Nanotechnology -Geoengineering -All aspects of physics -E-governance -E-commerce -The knowledge economy -Urban studies -Arms control -Understanding and responding to terrorism -Medical informatics -Computer Sciences Title page......Page 1 Introduction......Page 5 Contents......Page 7 Me, My Avatar, and I: Exploring Virtual Worlds......Page 9 Meta Ethics for the Metaverse: The Ethics of Virtual Worlds......Page 11 On the Ecological/Representational Structure of Virtual Environments......Page 21 The Dynamic Representation of Reality and of Ourself between Real and Virtual Worlds......Page 32 Living with the Golem: Robots and Autonomous Agents......Page 41 Can a Robot Intentionally Conduct Mutual Communication with Human Beings?......Page 43 On the Ethical Quandaries of a Practicing Roboticist: A First-Hand Look......Page 53 How Just Could a Robot War Be?......Page 58 Limits to the Autonomy of Agents......Page 73 Mind and World: Knowing, Thinking, and Representing......Page 85 Formalising the ‘No Information without Data-Representation’ Principle......Page 87 The Computer as Cognitive Artifact and Simulator of Worlds......Page 99 The Panic Room: On Synthetic Emotions......Page 111 Representation in Digital Systems......Page 124 Information, Knowledge and Confirmation Holism......Page 130 Phenomenal Consciousness: Sensorimotor Contingencies and the Constitution of Objects......Page 141 Computing in Society: Designing, Learning, and Searching......Page 151 Towards an Intelligent Tutoring System for Propositional Proof Construction......Page 153 Toward Aligning Computer Programming with Clear Thinking via the Reason Programming Language......Page 164 Ethics and the Practice of Software Design......Page 179 How to Explain the Underrepresentation of Women in Computer Science Studies......Page 192 How the Web Is Changing the Way We Trust......Page 202 Author Index......Page 213 Focuses on the multi-faceted'computational turn'that is occurring through the interaction of the disciplines of philosophy and computing. This book explores the phenomenon of virtual worlds. It focuses on robots and artificial agents. It discusses the relation between human mentality and information processing in computers.