APA Newsletters

Spring 2001
Volume 00, Number 2

Newsletter on Philosophy and Computers

From The Chair

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Robert Cavalier
Carnegie Mellon University

Activities for the year 2001
   HAL may not have spoken yet, but advances in the technical and social aspects of computing continue to challenge philosophers engaged in the many issues that arise at the intersection of philosophy and computing. At the Eastern Division meeting of the APA, over 25 people attended the PAC sponsored session on "New Models for Approaching Reason and Argument." Tom Burke from the University of South Carolina discussed the Philosophical and Pedagogical Foundations for Barwise and Etchemendy's Logic Software and Richard Scheines from Carnegie Mellon demonstrated Web-based Courseware for Causal and Statistical Reasoning. Barwise and Etchemendy's logic software is published by Seven Bridges Press as Language, Proof, and Logic. A web-site for the Causal Reasoning project can be found at http://www.phil.cmu.edu/projects/csr/
During the March APA meeting PAC sponsors a session entitled "Android Epistemology." Carnegie Mellon's Clark Glymour discusses "Automating Normal Science: Rocks to Genes" and argues by way of examples that causal discoveries can reliably be made by algorithmic procedures. At the Central Division APA in May, a PAC sponsored session on the "The Impact of the Internet on Our Moral Lives" features Charles Ess (Drury University) and Sue Dwyer (University of Maryland Baltimore County). Charlie's presentation discusses the "Cultural and Ethical Dimensions of the World Wide Web" and Sue focuses on the topic of pornography in a talk entitled " 'Enter Here'? At Your Own Risk: The Moral Dangers of Cyberporn."
   As you'll see in more detail in this Issue of the Newsletter, PAC's continuing involvement with the Computing and Philosophy Conferences provides us all with an exciting opportunity to see the depth and variety of activities that CAP has provided over the years. The synergy between the work of the Committee and the Computing and Philosophy conferences will only continue to grow. Starting in August, CAP will evolve into the International Association for Computing and Philosophy. Tony Beavers will become its Executive Director and host a new web site coordinating all of the activities of IACP. Along with the individual CAP West and East conferences, new CAP conferences will appear in Europe soon and future CAP conferences will be held in Latin America and along the Pacific Rim. I feel confident that the first decade of this new century will see an astonishing growth in our field.
   As another sign of growth, PAC is establishing a "Jon Barwise Prize" for distinguished contributions to the field of computing and philosophy. If all goes according to plan, we will be able to announce details of this Prize at the August meeting of CAP@CMU. Finally, I want to welcome two new members to the PAC Committee. Starting July 1st, James Fetzer JFETZER@D.UMN.EDU and Luciano Floridi LUCIANO.FLORIDI@PHILOSOPHY.OXFORD.AC.UK will join us as we move forward with our agenda for 2001 and beyond.

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Don't forget to come to CMU's Computing and Philosophy conference to be held this year on August 9th, 10th and 11th. Program announcements and registration information for CAP@CMU are online at http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/caae/CAP/

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APA Newsletters

Spring 2001 Volume 00, Number 2

Spring 2001
Volume 00, Number 2