The nature of physical computation

Computing systems are everywhere today. Even the brain is thought to be a sort of computing system. But what does it mean to say that a given organ or system computes? What is it about laptops, smartphones, and nervous systems that they are deemed to compute, and why does it seldom occur to us to de...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Shagrir, Oron
Format: eBook Book
Language:English
Published: New York Oxford University Press 2022
Oxford University Press, Incorporated
Edition:1
Series:Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Science
Subjects:
Computer science
Computer science > Philosophy
Computers
Computers > Philosophy
Computing and Information Technology
Metaphysics
Philosophy of Computational Science
Philosophy of Mathematics & Logic
Philosophy of Science
Semantic computing
models
Turing computability
implementation
program execution
information
mechanism
explanation
physical computation
representation
algorithm
ISBN:0197552382, 9780197552384, 9780197552407, 0197552404
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Computing systems are everywhere today. Even the brain is thought to be a sort of computing system. But what does it mean to say that a given organ or system computes? What is it about laptops, smartphones, and nervous systems that they are deemed to compute, and why does it seldom occur to us to describe stomachs, hurricanes, rocks, or chairs that way? The book provides an extended argument for the semantic view of computation, which states that semantic properties are involved in the nature of computing systems. Laptops, smartphones, and nervous systems compute because they are accompanied by representations. Stomachs, hurricanes, and rocks, for instance, which do not have semantic properties, do not compute. The first part of the book argues that the linkage between the mathematical theory of computability and the notion of physical computation is weak. Theoretical notions such as algorithms, effective procedure, program, and automaton play only a minor role in identifying physical computation. The second part of the book reviews three influential accounts of physical computation and argues that while none of these accounts is satisfactory, each of them highlights certain key features of physical computation. The final part of the book develops and argues for a semantic account of physical computation and offers a characterization of computational explanations.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references (p. [271]-299) and indexes
ISBN:0197552382
9780197552384
9780197552407
0197552404
DOI:10.1093/oso/9780197552384.001.0001