Swedish Philosophy of  Computing and Information Network

INVITATION TO THE SWEDISH NATIONAL COURSE
ON PHILOSOPHY OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, PI ^'04

PI '04, the Swedish national PhD Course on Philosophy of Computer Science organized in Västerås starts in January 2004.

Why Philosophy of Computer Science?

As modern researchers we live in highly specialized worlds. The result of increased complexity within different fields leads to compartmentalization and loss of communication between various branches of scholar endeavour. This situation is unsustainable in the long term. Communication and exchange of ideas between diverse branches of learning is absolutely indispensable. Philosophy of Computer Science is a part of Philosophy of Information and Computation (PI) - a new emerging discipline that through the basic concepts of information and computation connects seemingly unrelated fields such as sciences and technology with philosophy and ethics. PI aims at giving us deeper comprehension and better tools of analysis of value systems in its domain. The emphasis is on encouraging critical thinking and an exploratory approach to the fields stretching from computing to philosophy and ethics.

The Goal of the Course

The course objective is to give the future researchers in the fields of Computer Science and Engineering/Informatics/Computing insights into the meaning of their own research within the broader context and to ascertain its relevance to other disciplines.

We study the question of the scientific ideal of today, explore the philosophical grounds of the computing and its methods and compare to the actual praxis. The aim is to address the basic questions of scientific foundations of the research area, its methodology, applications and value system - within the framework of the emerging Philosophy of Computing and Information and through the lectures of eminent guest lecturers.

The Course Organization, Teaching and Examination

The course is designed as a combination of a series of seminars and distance study. We meet three times, with start on Wednesday evening and finish on Friday afternoon:

Lectures are combined with group discussions. The time between meetings is used for self-study and paper writing.

Of 5 credits ("5 poäng") total, the class attendance (taking part in the class activities and taking lecture/class-notes) is worth 3 credits while writing a research paper and participating in the mini-conference is worth 2 credits.

More details about the course are available at

http://www.idt.mdh.se/~gdc/PI-network-course.htm

Course Schedule

I. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS (21/01 – 23/01)

LECTURES

·         Introductory lecture: What is PI?

·         Physics as a traditional model  of the ideal science for Philosophy of Science

·         Mathematics as a model of the ideal science for Philosophy of Computation/Information

II. METHODOLOGY, MODELLING AND SIMULATION (03/03 – 05/03)

LECTURES & SEMINARS

·         Philosophical Foundations of Computer Science

·         Philosophical Aspects of Modelling and Simulation

·         Critical Analysis of Computer Science Methodology

III. MINI-CONFERENCE, ETHICAL AND SOCIETAL ASPECTS (12/05 – 14/05)

SEMINARS & PRESENTATIONS

·         Information Ethics and Professional Issues

·         Presentations of student papers

Textbook

The main textbook is the newly published
The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Computing and Information
Ed. L. Floridi, University of Oxford.

Professor Floridi is also going to give an introductory lecture.

Participation

The participation in the course is free of charge.

There is a possibility for a number of participating graduate students from new Swedish universities to receive grants covering travel/accommodation expenses. Please indicate interest in receiving such a grant in your application.

Deadline

Deadline for applications: January 20 2004.

[Applications submitted later may be accepted, depending on availability.]

Welcome!

For enquiries and preliminary applications e-mail to:
gordana.dodig-crnkovic@mdh.se

For applications fill in the application form and mail to: