Minds and Computers: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence [Paperback]

Matt Carter (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0748620990 | ISBN-13: 978-0748620999 | Publication Date: August 21, 2007

Could a computer have a mind? What kind of machine would this be? Exactly what do we mean by "mind" anyway?

The notion of the "intelligent'"machine, while continuing to feature in numerous entertaining and frightening fictions, has also been the focus of a serious and dedicated research tradition. Reflecting on these fictions, and on the research tradition that pursues "Artificial Intelligence", raises a number of vexing philosophical issues. Minds and Computers offers an engaging, coherent, and highly approachable interdisciplinary introduction to the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence.

Readers are presented with introductory material from each of the disciplines which constitute Cognitive Science: Philosophy, Neuroscience, Psychology, Computer Science, and Linguistics. Throughout, readers are encouraged to consider the implications of this disparate and wide-ranging material for the possibility of developing machines with minds. And they can expect to develop a foundation for philosophically responsible engagement with A.I., a sound understanding of Philosophy of Mind and of computational theory, and a good feel for cross-disciplinary analysis.

Features:

*A solid foundation in the Philosophy of Mind

*A broadly interdisciplinary purview

*A directed philosophical focus

*A clear and accessible explanation of technical material with abundant exercises

*A glossary of terms

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book is an excellent introduction to some of the most important problems within the philosophy of artificial intelligence... Carter's book is in fact highly interdisciplinary, but he has clearly succeeded in integrating some very crucial topics regarding artificial intelligence in a clever and thought-provoking manner... The book will be an excellent choice as a textbook to be used for a university course introducing important and interesting problems within the philosophy of artificial intelligence. History and Philosophy of Logic Like good science fiction, Matt Carter's Minds and Computers essentially constitutes an exploration into what makes human beings what they are... [It] is a teaching tool par excellence and should find its way into every classroom where the philosophy of mind is being studied. Heythrop Journal

About the Author

Matt Carter is a Lecturer in the Philosophy Department at Melbourne University. This is his first book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press (August 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0748620990
• ISBN-13: 978-0748620999
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #229,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A first-rate introduction to the computational theory of mind, September 23, 2009

By 

Alvin J. Martínez (San Juan, Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Minds and Computers: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence (Paperback)

If you are looking for a comprehensive interdisciplinary overview of the core concepts of cognitive science lucidly presented in a couple of hundred pages, seek no more. Matt Carter accomplishes just that by examining the relation between minds and computers, a goal which takes him beyond the bounds of conventional artificial intelligence. In addition to classical AI, Carter ably discusses the fundamental ideas of philosophy of mind, psychology and behaviorism, neuroscience, computational intelligence, and linguistics: the fields constituting cognitive science. The aim of this grand tour is to facilitate development of a philosophically sound computational theory of mind.

The tour begins, quite properly, in the very beginning with a review of Cartesian dualism followed by concise discussions of behaviorism, neuroanatomy, Australian (or reductive) materialism, and functionalism. The classical symbolic computational architecture thesis of AI is then examined in some detail. Subsequent chapters delve into particular issues of interest, including computationalism, standard AI search techniques, machine and human reasoning, machine and human language, and artificial neural networks. Even automated game playing, a perennial AI favorite, gets a little chapter of its own. Classic AI icons are, of course, showcased: the Turing test, expert systems, the Chinese room. Alas, 200-odd pages impose severe limits; thus Minsky and Simon and Newell and McCarthy and many other legendary heavyweights don't even make it into the footnotes. Actually, there are no footnotes. Nor endnotes. But there are excellent suggestions for further reading and a very helpful glossary in the appendices.

This book is simply wonderful. It's everything you wanted to know about cog sci delivered under the label of AI. That is fine. It was, after all, good old fashioned AI that got the ball rolling in the first place. Think of the book as a broad-based introduction to AI sans the messy programming requirements. Naturally, possession of an alert brain is de rigueur.