Does the solar system compute the laws of motion?

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorYang Y
dc.contributor.authorCampbell, Douglas
dc.date.accessioned2022-08-10T04:20:06Z
dc.date.available2022-08-10T04:20:06Z
dc.date.issued2021en
dc.date.updated2022-07-04T02:15:30Z
dc.description.abstractThe counterfactual account of physical computation is simple and, for the most part, very attractive. However, it is usually thought to trivialize the notion of physical computation insofar as it implies ‘limited pancomputationalism’, this being the doctrine that every deterministic physical system computes some function. Should we bite the bullet and accept limited pancomputationalism, or reject the counterfactual account as untenable? Jack Copeland would have us do neither of the above. He attempts to thread a path between the two horns of the dilemma by buttressing the counterfactual account with extra conditions intended to block certain classes of deterministic physical systems from qualifying as physical computers. His theory is called the ‘algorithm execution account’. Here we show that the algorithm execution account entails limited pancomputationalism, despite Copeland’s argument to the contrary. We suggest, partly on this basis, that the counterfactual account should be accepted as it stands, pancomputationalist warts and all.en
dc.identifier.citationCampbell DI, Yang Y (2021). Does the solar system compute the laws of motion?. Synthese. 198(4). 3203-3220.en
dc.identifier.doihttp://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-019-02275-w
dc.identifier.issn0039-7857
dc.identifier.issn1573-0964
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10092/104131
dc.languageen
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLCen
dc.rightsAll rights reserved unless otherwise stateden
dc.rights.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10092/17651en
dc.subjectCounterfactual Accounten
dc.subjectAlgorithm Execution Accounten
dc.subjectPhysical Computationen
dc.subjectPancomputationalismen
dc.subjectCellular Automataen
dc.subject.anzsrc0801 Artificial Intelligence and Image Processingen
dc.subject.anzsrc2202 History and Philosophy of Specific Fieldsen
dc.subject.anzsrc2203 Philosophyen
dc.subject.anzsrcFields of Research::50 - Philosophy and religious studies::5003 - Philosophy::500315 - Philosophy of mind (excl. cognition)en
dc.subject.anzsrcFields of Research::50 - Philosophy and religious studies::5003 - Philosophy::500317 - Philosophy of science (excl. history and philosophy of specific fields)en
dc.subject.anzsrcFields of Research::46 - Information and computing sciences::4613 - Theory of computation::461399 - Theory of computation not elsewhere classifieden
dc.subject.anzsrcFields of Research::46 - Information and computing sciences::4602 - Artificial intelligence::460202 - Autonomous agents and multiagent systemsen
dc.titleDoes the solar system compute the laws of motion?en
dc.typeJournal Articleen
uc.collegeFaculty of Arts
uc.departmentHumanities and Creative Arts
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
Solar-System-final.docx
Size:
128.44 KB
Format:
Unknown data format
Description:
Submitted version
Download
Collections
Arts: Journal Articles