The Philosophy of Artificial LifeMargaret A. Boden The aim of this series is to bring together important recent writings in major areas of philosophical inquiry, selected from a variety of sources, mostly periodicals, which may not be conveniently available to the university student or the general reader. The editor of each volume contributes an introductory essay on the items chosen and on the questions with which they deal. A selective bibliography is appended as a guide to further reading. This volume offers a selection of the most important philosophical work in the new and fast-growing interdisciplinary area of artifical life; it will set the agenda for future study and research. Artifical life (A-Life) research aims to synthesize the characteristics of life by artifical means, particularly employing computer technology. The essays chosen explore such fascinating themes as the nature of life, the relation between life and mind, and the limits of technology. The first two papers, one of which is the classic A-Life manifesto by Christopher Langton, provide a general overview of the subject and compare it with artificial intelligence (AI); in Part II, the contributors describe examples of A-Life research. Part III discusses various explanatory strategies in A-Life, and relates them to approaches in AI and cognitive science, while Part IV focuses on the concept of life in general. Finally, Part V explores A-Life's relation to functionalism and the feasibility of `strong' A-Life. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Artificial Life | 39 |
Autonomy and Artificiality | 95 |
Copyright | |
15 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
A-Life action activity agent algorithms alive animals animat approach Artificial Intelligence autonomous Bedau behaviour biological Cambridge cell cellular automata cognitive science complex concept connectionism constraints context copy procedure creatures defined Dewey dynamical systems ecological emergence entities environment evolution evolutionary evolutionary robotics evolved example explanation explanatory externalist fitness landscape function genes genetic Genetic Algorithms genome genotype global GTYPE homuncular human hyper-parasites individual instructions interactions internal Kauffman Langton living systems living things machine McFarland mechanisms metabolism microstates mind models mutation natural selection networks nouvelle AI organisms parasites patterns perception phenomena phenotype Philosophy physical population possible problem properties PTYPE question realization replication representations reproduction result role rules Santa Fe Institute self-replicating simple simulation situated robotics sorting networks specific Spencer strategy strong AI structure supple adaptation symbolic template theory Tierran tion Turing Turing Test understanding University Press