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437On malfunctioning softwareSynthese 192 (4): 1199-1220. 2015.Artefacts do not always do what they are supposed to, due to a variety of reasons, including manufacturing problems, poor maintenance, and normal wear-and-tear. Since software is an artefact, it should be subject to malfunctioning in the same sense in which other artefacts can malfunction. Yet, whether software is on a par with other artefacts when it comes to malfunctioning crucially depends on the abstraction used in the analysis. We distinguish between “negative” and “positive” notions of mal…Read more
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197Acts of Knowledge: History, Philosophy and Logic (edited book)College Publications. 2009.The Editors’ vision for this volume is that it should be a selection of essays, contributed by the academics who have worked, studied, collaborated and disagreed with Göran Sundholm; engaging in debated issues and exploring untouched areas maybe only suggested or hinted at in Sundholm’s own work. "Acts of Knowledge" characterizes the papers contained in this volume as bringing something scientifically valuable in their respective fields: all the papers present cutting-edge research in their own …Read more
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192Giovanni Sommaruga (ed): Formal Theories of Information: From Shannon to Semantic Information Theory and General Concepts of Information (review)Minds and Machines 21 (1): 119-122. 2011.Giovanni Sommaruga (ed): Formal Theories of Information: From Shannon to Semantic Information Theory and General Concepts of Information Content Type Journal Article Pages 119-122 DOI 10.1007/s11023-011-9228-0 Authors Giuseppe Primiero, Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science, University of Ghent, Blandijnberg 2, Ghent, 9000 Belgium Journal Minds and Machines Online ISSN 1572-8641 Print ISSN 0924-6495 Journal Volume Volume 21 Journal Issue Volume 21, Number 1
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189A contextual type theory with judgemental modalities for reasoning from open assumptionsLogique and Analyse 220 579-600. 2012.Contextual type theories are largely explored in their applications to programming languages, but less investigated for knowledge representation purposes. The combination of a constructive language with a modal extension of contexts appears crucial to explore the attractive idea of a type-theoretical calculus of provability from refutable assumptions for non-monotonic reasoning. This paper introduces such a language: the modal operators are meant to internalize two different modes of correctness…Read more
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184Offline and Online Data: on upgrading functional information to knowledgePhilosophical Studies 164 (2): 371-392. 2013.This paper addresses the problem of upgrading functional information to knowledge. Functional information is defined as syntactically well-formed, meaningful and collectively opaque data. Its use in the formal epistemology of information theories is crucial to solve the debate on the veridical nature of information, and it represents the companion notion to standard strongly semantic information, defined as well-formed, meaningful and true data. The formal framework, on which the definitions are…Read more
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179An epistemic logic for becoming informedSynthese 167 (2). 2009.Various conceptual approaches to the notion of information can currently be traced in the literature in logic and formal epistemology. A main issue of disagreement is the attribution of truthfulness to informational data, the so called Veridicality Thesis (Floridi 2005). The notion of Epistemic Constructive Information (Primiero 2007) is one of those rejecting VT. The present paper develops a formal framework for ECI. It extends on the basic approach of Artemov’s logic of proofs (Artemov 1994), …Read more
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168MiscomputationPhilosophy and Technology 26 (3): 253-272. 2013.The phenomenon of digital computation is explained (often differently) in computer science, computer engineering and more broadly in cognitive science. Although the semantics and implications of malfunctions have received attention in the philosophy of biology and philosophy of technology, errors in computational systems remain of interest only to computer science. Miscomputation has not gotten the philosophical attention it deserves. Our paper fills this gap by offering a taxonomy of miscomputa…Read more
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160A Taxonomy of Errors for Information SystemsMinds and Machines 24 (3): 249-273. 2014.We provide a full characterization of computational error states for information systems. The class of errors considered is general enough to include human rational processes, logical reasoning, scientific progress and data processing in some functional programming languages. The aim is to reach a full taxonomy of error states by analysing the recovery and processing of data. We conclude by presenting machine-readable checking and resolve algorithms
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140The Semantics of UntrustworthinessTopoi 35 (1): 253-266. 2016.We offer a formal treatment of the semantics of both complete and incomplete mistrustful or distrustful information transmissions. The semantics of such relations is analysed in view of rules that define the behaviour of a receiving agent. We justify this approach in view of human agent communications and secure system design. We further specify some properties of such relations
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140A modal type theory for formalizing trusted communicationsJournal of Applied Logic 10 (1): 92-114. 2012.This paper introduces a multi-modal polymorphic type theory to model epistemic processes characterized by trust, defined as a second-order relation affecting the communication process between sources and a receiver. In this language, a set of senders is expressed by a modal prioritized context, whereas the receiver is formulated in terms of a contextually derived modal judgement. Introduction and elimination rules for modalities are based on the polymorphism of terms in the language. This leads …Read more
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139Proceeding in Abstraction. From Concepts to Types and the recent perspective on InformationHistory and Philosophy of Logic 30 (3): 257-282. 2009.This article presents an historical and conceptual overview on different approaches to logical abstraction. Two main trends concerning abstraction in the history of logic are highlighted, starting from the logical notions of concept and function. This analysis strictly relates to the philosophical discussion on the nature of abstract objects. I develop this issue further with respect to the procedure of abstraction involved by (typed) λ-systems, focusing on the crucial change about meaning and p…Read more
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111Majority merging by adaptive countingSynthese 165 (2). 2008.The present paper introduces a belief merging procedure by majority using the standard format of Adaptive Logics. The core structure of the logic ADM c (Adaptive Doxastic Merging by Counting) consists in the formulation of the conflicts arising from the belief bases of the agents involved in the procedure. A strategy is then defined both semantically and proof-theoretically which selects the consistent contents answering to a majority principle. The results obtained are proven to be equivalent t…Read more
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110On the Ontology of the Computing Process and the Epistemology of the ComputedPhilosophy and Technology 27 (3): 485-489. 2014.Software-intensive science challenges in many ways our current scientific methods. This affects significantly our notion of science and scientific interpretation of the world, driving at the same time the philosophical debate. We consider some issues prompted by SIS in the light of the philosophical categories of ontology and epistemology
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106When Logic Meets Engineering: Introduction to Logical Issues in the History and Philosophy of Computer ScienceHistory and Philosophy of Logic 36 (3): 195-204. 2015.The birth, growth, stabilization and subsequent understanding of a new field of practical and theoretical enquiry is always a conceptual process including several typologies of events, phenomena an...
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103Honesty, Competence, and Trust for Systems DesignPhilosophy and Technology 26 (4): 431-435. 2013.We briefly present three problems related to promiscuous trust in connection to germane notions of honesty and competence in systems design
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101On the Foundations of ComputingOxford University Press. 2019.Computing, today more than ever before, is a multi-faceted discipline which collates several methodologies, areas of interest, and approaches: mathematics, engineering, programming, and applications. Given its enormous impact on everyday life, it is essential that its debated origins are understood, and that its different foundations are explained. On the Foundations of Computing offers a comprehensive and critical overview of the birth and evolution of computing, and it presents some of the mos…Read more
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100The constructive reformulation of the semantic theory suggests two basic principles to be assumed: first, the distinction between proper knowledge, expressed in judgemental form, and the assertion conditions for such knowledge; second, ...
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97A Formal Approach to Vague Expressions with IndexicalsIn Alastair Butler (ed.), Proceedings of the Ninth International Workshop of Logic and Engineering of Natural Language Semantics (LENLS 9), Japan Society For Artificial Intelligence. 2012.
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97Facing Computing as Technique: Towards a History and Philosophy of ComputingPhilosophy and Technology 27 (3): 321-326. 2014.We present the methodological principles underlying the scientific activities of the DHST Commission on the History and Philosophy of Computing. This volume collects refereed selected papers from the First International Conference organized by the Commission
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81A Computationally Grounded, Weighted Doxastic LogicStudia Logica 104 (4): 679-703. 2016.Modelling, reasoning and verifying complex situations involving a system of agents is crucial in all phases of the development of a number of safety-critical systems. In particular, it is of fundamental importance to have tools and techniques to reason about the doxastic and epistemic states of agents, to make sure that the agents behave as intended. In this paper we introduce a computationally grounded logic called COGWED and we present two types of semantics that support a range of practical s…Read more
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76Sulla natura sintetica dell¿ argomentazione metafisicaGiornale di Metafisica 28 (2): 397-412. 2006.
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44A Minimalist Epistemology for Agent-Based Simulations in the Artificial SciencesMinds and Machines 29 (1): 127-148. 2019.The epistemology of computer simulations has become a mainstream topic in the philosophy of technology. Within this large area, significant differences hold between the various types of models and simulation technologies. Agent-based and multi-agent systems simulations introduce a specific constraint on the types of agents and systems modelled. We argue that such difference is crucial and that simulation for the artificial sciences requires the formulation of its own specific epistemological pri…Read more
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33Reflections on Programming Systems: Historical and Philosophical Aspects (edited book)Springer Verlag. 2018.This book presents a systematic philosophical and historical analysis of operating systems (0S). The discussion starts with the evolution of OSs since before their birth. It continues with a comprehensive philosophical analysis grounded in technical aspects. Coverage looks at software and (where appropriate) hardware as well as their historical developments. The authors not only offer historical and philosophical reflections on operating systems. They also explore the programs they coordinate an…Read more
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33Infringing Software Property Rights: Ontological, Methodological, and Ethical QuestionsPhilosophy and Technology 33 (2): 283-308. 2020.This paper contributes to the computer ethics debate on software ownership protection by examining the ontological, methodological, and ethical problems related to property right infringement that should come prior to any legal discussion. The ontological problem consists in determining precisely what it is for a computer program to be a copy of another one, a largely neglected problem in computer ethics. The methodological problem is defined as the difficulty of deciding whether a given softwar…Read more
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29Algorithmic Iteration for Computational IntelligenceMinds and Machines 27 (3): 521-543. 2017.Machine awareness is a disputed research topic, in some circles considered a crucial step in realising Artificial General Intelligence. Understanding what that is, under which conditions such feature could arise and how it can be controlled is still a matter of speculation. A more concrete object of theoretical analysis is algorithmic iteration for computational intelligence, intended as the theoretical and practical ability of algorithms to design other algorithms for actions aimed at solving w…Read more
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24A Pragmatic Theory of Computational ArtefactsMinds and Machines 34 (1): 139-170. 2024.Some computational phenomena rely essentially on pragmatic considerations, and seem to undermine the independence of the specification from the implementation. These include software development, deviant uses, esoteric languages and recent data-driven applications. To account for them, the interaction between pragmatics, epistemology and ontology in computational artefacts seems essential, indicating the need to recover the role of the language metaphor. We propose a User Levels (ULs) structure …Read more
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22On Malfunction, Mechanisms and Malware ClassificationPhilosophy and Technology 32 (2): 339-362. 2019.Malware has been around since the 1980s and is a large and expensive security concern today, constantly growing over the past years. As our social, professional and financial lives become more digitalised, they present larger and more profitable targets for malware. The problem of classifying and preventing malware is therefore urgent, and it is complicated by the existence of several specific approaches. In this paper, we use an existing malware taxonomy to formulate a general, language indepen…Read more
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20On the Foundations of Computing: Limits and Open IssuesAxiomathes 33 (4): 1-16. 2023.Any attempt to conceptualize, categorize and constraint foundational issues in a living science, such as Computing, is bound to show its limitations and leave a number of open issues. Taking stock with some critical reviews of Primiero (On the foundations of computing, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2019) published in this Journal, I overview potential new problems to be investigated by a foundational analysis of the science of computing.
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Epistemology |
Logic and Philosophy of Logic |
Philosophy of Computing and Information |
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