APA Committee on
Philosophy and Computers

Committee Report
1996

The following appeared in Volume 70, Number 5 (May, 1997) of the Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association.

Terry Bynum, Chair

During the past year, the Committee on Philosophy and Computers has worked on six major projects:

1. Sponsorship of divisional-meeting sessions on the topic "How Computers are Changing Philosophy."

2. Creation and dissemination of questionnaires to determine how members are using computer technology in their teaching, their research and their professional cooperation.

3. Preparation of a book to examine the impact of computer technology on the philosophical profession.

4. Expansion and redesign of the Committee's Newsletter.

5. Co-sponsorship (with Carnegie Mellon University) of the 1996 CAP Conference in Pittsburgh.

6. Provision of advice and assistance to the APA National Office in moving the APA World-Wide-Web Site to Newark, DE, and in hiring a "Web Meister" to maintain and expand that site.

Here are some details about these activities:

1. DIVISIONAL MEETING SESSIONS-Committee-sponsored sessions at APA divisional meetings during the past year included presentations on computing and logic, computing and philosophy of science, philosophy on the Internet, electronic publishing in philosophy, and the impacts of multimedia on philosophy teaching and research.

2. SURVEY OF PHILOSOPHY CHAIRS-The Committee has prepared three questionnaires for dissemination in September to philosophy department chairs asking about the impacts of computing upon philosophical activities in their departments. Three reports based upon the questionnaires will be prepared and published in this Newsletter and in the book described below.

3. PUBLICATION OF A BOOK-Basil Blackwell Publishers of Oxford, UK will publish a book containing the above-described papers and reports, plus an editorial introduction by Terry Bynum and Jim Moor, who are the co-editors of the book. The title of the book is The Digital Phoenix: How Computers Are Changing Philosophy; and the anticipated date of publication is Spring 1997.

4. EXPANSION AND REDESIGN OF THE NEWSLETTER-In keeping with the above-described plans of the Committee, the "Newsletter on Philosophy and Computers" was expanded and revised to include sections on the effects of computing on research, teaching and professional cooperation in Philosophy. A new editorial staff was put in place in consultation with the National Office.

5. CO-SPONSORSHIP OF THE CAP CONFERENCE-The Eleventh Annual Conference on Computing and Philosophy (CAP96) was held at Carnegie Mellon University, who co-sponsored the conference with this Committee. The conference- again this year- was a big success.

6. RELOCATION OF APA WEB SITE-The APA World-Wide-Web Site has now been relocated to the National Office at the University of Delaware. Various members of the Committee- especially Saul Traiger, who developed the Site at Occidental College and who has done a superb job running the APA Internet access for many years- provided advice and assistance in this important move. The National Office has now hired Burt Wilson to be the "Coordinator of Information Resources" who will maintain and expand the site.

In the coming months, the Committee will disseminate three questionnaires to Philosophy Department chairs, write and disseminate three reports based upon those questionnaires, complete the series of divisional meeting sessions on "How Computers are Changing Philosophy," and send to Basil Blackwell Publishers the typescript of the resulting book. In Summer 1997, the Committee will again co-sponsor a CAP conference with Carnegie Mellon University.

APA Committee on Philosophy and Computers

Committee Report 1996

APA Committee on
Philosophy and Computers

Committee Report
1996