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Nicola Angius

University of Messina, Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty Member

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Address: Via Concezione 6, Messina, Sicily, Italy

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Alexandre Pasquiou

Christophe Pallier

Tel Aviv University

University of California, San Diego

Arturo Téllez Velázquez

Saarland University

Dr. Darren Edwards

University of Wales, Swansea, UK

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Graciela Silvina Areces

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Papers by Nicola Angius

The Simulative Role of Neural Language Models in Brain Language Processing

This paper provides an epistemological and methodological analysis of the recent practice of usin... more This paper provides an epistemological and methodological analysis of the recent practice of using neural language models to simulate brain language processing. It is argued that, on the one hand, this practice can be understood as an instance of the traditional simulative method in artificial intelligence, following a mechanistic understanding of the mind; on the other hand, that it modifies the simulative method significantly. Firstly, neural language models are introduced; a study case showing how neural language models are being applied in cognitive neuroscience for simulative purposes is then presented; after recalling the main epistemological features of the simulative method in artificial intelligence, it is finally highlighted how the epistemic opacity of neural language models is tackled by using the brain itself to simulate the neural language model and to test hypotheses about it, in what is called here a co-simulation.

The logical structure of modular semantic theories of software systems

Metaphilosophy, 2024

Scientific activities are concerned with the construction, the evaluation, and the refinement of ... more Scientific activities are concerned with the construction, the evaluation, and the refinement of theories whose statements can be predictive with respect to the represented systems' behaviours. In the context of the Philosophy of Computer Science (Angius et al. 2021), empirical theories of software systems have been acknowledged, consistent with the semantic view of theories (Suppe 1989), in terms of the family of computational models representing the potential executions of the software under examination (Angius and Tamburrini 2011). According to

On the Experimental Foundation of Computing

Axiomathes, 32(3), 1221–1236, 2022

This paper offers a review of Giuseppe Primero's (2020) book "On the foundations of computing". M... more This paper offers a review of Giuseppe Primero's (2020) book "On the foundations of computing". Mathematical, engineering, and experimental foundations of the science of computing are examined under the light of the notions of formal, physical, and experimental computational validity provided by the author. It is challenged the thesis that experimental computational validity can be defined only for the algorithmic method and not for the software development process. The notions of computational hypothesis and computational experiment provided by Primiero (2020) are extended to the case of software development. Finally, it is highlighted how the hypothetical-deductive method is involved in the practice of using models to corroborate computational hypotheses in software testing. As a concluding remark, it is underlined how defining experimental computational validity in the context of software development offers a sound experimental foundation to the science of computing.

Can Computer Programs be Formally Verified

APhEx, 28, 322-338., 2023

This paper examines one central problem in the philosophy of computer science, namely the questio... more This paper examines one central problem in the philosophy of computer science, namely the question of whether computer programs can be verified by means of a mathematical proof. Firstly, program verification is defined and the classical debate on its feasibility is recalled under the light of a dual ontology of computational systems. Secondly, the current resurgence of the debate is analysed underlining its logical and philosophical motivations. Finally, it is shown how adopting a stratified ontology for computational systems one may recombine the different positions in the debate, arguing how program verification involves both deductive and inductive reasoning.

Co-Simulations of Brain Language Processing using Neural Language Models

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (Vol. 46)., 2024

This paper provides an epistemological and methodological analysis of the practice of using neura... more This paper provides an epistemological and methodological analysis of the practice of using neural language models to simulate brain language processing. Firstly, neural language models are introduced; a study case showing how neural language models are being applied in cognitive neuroscience for simulative purposes is then presented; after recalling the main epistemological features of the simulative method in artificial intelligence, it is finally examined how the simulative method is modified when using neural language models. In particular, it is argued that the epistemic opacity of neural language models requires that the brain itself be used to simulate the model and to test hypotheses about the model, in what is called here a co-simulation.

What is (the philosophy of) Computer Science

Central Themes and Open Questions in the Philosophy of Computer Science

Global Philosophy, 2023

This paper introduces the Global Philosophy symposium on Giuseppe Primiero's book On the Foundati... more This paper introduces the Global Philosophy symposium on Giuseppe Primiero's book On the Foundations of Computing (2020). The collection gathers commentaries and responses of the author with the aim of engaging with some open questions in the philosophy of computer science. Firstly, this paper introduces the central themes addressed in Primiero's book; secondly, it highlights some of the main critiques from commentators in order to, finally, pinpoint some conceptual challenges indicating future directions for the philosophy of computer science.

From Coding To Curing. Functions, Implementations, and Correctness in Deep Learning

This paper sheds light on the shift that is taking place from the practice of 'coding', namely de... more This paper sheds light on the shift that is taking place from the practice of 'coding', namely developing programs as conventional in the software community, to the practice of 'curing', an activity that has emerged in the last few years in Deep Learning (DL) and that amounts to curing the data regime to which a DL model is exposed during training. Initially, the curing paradigm is illustrated by means of a study-case on autonomous vehicles. Subsequently, the shift from coding to curing is analysed taking into consideration the epistemological notions, central in the philosophy of computer science, of function, implementation, and correctness. First, it is illustrated how, in the curing paradigm, the functions performed by the trained model depend much more on dataset curation rather than on the model algorithms which, in contrast with the coding paradigm, do not comply with requested specifications. Second, it is highlighted how DL models cannot be considered implementations according to any of the available definitions of implementation that follow an intentional theory of functions. Finally, it is argued that DL models cannot be evaluated in terms of their correctness but rather in their experimental computational validity.

Copying Safety and Liveness Properties of Computational Artefacts

Journal of Logic and Computation, 2022

This paper shows how safety and liveness properties are not necessarily preserved by different ki... more This paper shows how safety and liveness properties are not necessarily preserved by different kinds of copies of computational artefacts and proposes procedures to preserve them that are consistent with ethical analyses on software property rights infringement. Safety and liveness are second-order properties that are crucial in the definition of the formal ontology of computational artefacts. Software copies are analysed at the level of their formal models as exact, inexact, and approximate copies, according to the taxonomy in (Angius and Primiero, 2018). First, it is explained how exact copies are the only kind of copies that preserve safety and liveness properties, and how inexact and approximate copies do not necessarily preserve them. Secondly, two model checking algorithms are proposed to verify whether inexact and approximate copies actually preserve safety and liveness properties. Essential properties of termination, correctness, and complexity are proved for these algorithms. Finally, contraction and expansion algorithmic operations are defined, allowing for the automatic design of safety-and liveness-preserving approximate copies. As a conclusion, the relevance of the present logical analysis for the ongoing debates in miscomputation and computer ethics is highlighted.

The Philosophy of Computer Science

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2021

The philosophy of computer science is concerned with the ontological and methodological issues ar... more The philosophy of computer science is concerned with the ontological and methodological issues arising from within the academic discipline of computer science, and from the practice of software development and its commercial and industrial deployment. More specifically, the philosophy of computer science considers the ontology and epistemology of computational systems, focusing on problems associated with their specification, programming, implementation, verification and testing. The complex nature of computer programs ensures that many of the conceptual questions raised by the philosophy of computer science have related ones in the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of empirical sciences, and the philosophy of technology. We shall provide an analysis of such topics that reflects the layered nature of the ontology of computational systems in Sections 1-5; we then discuss topics involved in their methodology in Sections 6-8.

Software Verification and Scientific Methodology: Models, Regularities, Abstractions

Essential traits of model checking, a prominent formal method utilized in computer science to pre... more Essential traits of model checking, a prominent formal method utilized in computer science to predict future behaviours of software systems, are examined here in the framework of the modelbased paradigm of scientific reasoning. Models that model checking techniques enable one to develop are shown to satisfy logical requirements expressed by the set-theoretic view of scientific models. It is highlighted how model checking algorithms are able to isolate law-like generalizations holding in the model under given ceteris paribus conditions and concerning software executions. Furthermore, abstraction methodologies utilized in model checking to decrease the state space of complex models are taken to be instantiations of the general process known as Aristotelian abstraction characterizing empirical modelling. Finally, the methodological interest of the model-checking techniques is emphasized in connection with the debate concerning the epistemological status of computer science. 1. Software...

From simulative programs as theories to theories of simulative programs

Computational Idealizations in Software Intensive Science: a Comment on Symons’ and Horner’s paper

Philosophy & Technology, 2014

This commentary on John Symons' and Jack Horner's paper, besides sharing its main argument, chall... more This commentary on John Symons' and Jack Horner's paper, besides sharing its main argument, challenges the authors' statement that there is no effective method to evaluate software intensive systems as a distinguishing feature of software intensive science. It is underlined here how analogous methodological limitations characterise the evaluations of empirical systems in non-software intensive sciences. The authors' claim that formal methods establish the correctness of computational models rather than of the represented program is here compared with the empirical adequacy problem typifying the model-based reasoning approach in physics. And the remark that testing all the paths of a software intensive system is unfeasible is related to the enumerative induction problem in the justification of empirical law-like hypotheses in non-software intensive sciences.

On the Mutual Dependence between Formal Methods and Empirical Testing in Program Verification

Philosophy and Technology, 2019

This paper provides a review of Raymond Turner's book Computational Artifacts. Towards a Philos... more This paper provides a review of Raymond Turner's book Computational Artifacts. Towards a Philosophy of Computer Science. Focus is made on the definition of program correctness as the twofold problem of evaluating whether both the symbolic program and the physical implementation satisfy a set of specifications. The review stresses how these are not two separate problems. First, it is highlighted how formal proofs of correctness need to rely on the analysis of physical computational processes. Secondly, it is underlined how software testing requires considering the formal relations holding between the specifications and the symbolic program. Such a mutual dependency between formal and empirical program verification methods is finally shown to influence the debate on the epistemological status of computer science.

Infringing Software Property Rights: Ontological, Methodological and Ethical Questions.

by Giuseppe Primiero and Nicola Angius

Philosophy & Technology, 2019

This paper contributes to the computer ethics debate on software ownership protection by examinin... more This paper contributes to the computer ethics debate on software ownership protection by examining the ontological, methodological, and ethical problems related to property rights 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 software system is a copy of another system. And the ethical problem corresponds to establishing when a copy constitutes, or does not constitute, a property rights infringement. The ontological problem is solved on the logical analysis of abstract machines, and the latter are argued to be the appropriate level of abstraction for software at which the methodological and the ethical problems can be successfully addressed.

Qualitative Models in Computational Simulative Sciences: Representation, Confirmation, Experimentation

Minds and Machines, 2019

The Epistemology Of Computer Simulation (EOCS) has developed as an epistemological and methodolog... more The Epistemology Of Computer Simulation (EOCS) has developed as an epistemological and methodological analysis of simulative sciences using quantitative computational models to represent and predict empirical phenomena of interest. In this paper, Executable Cell Biology (ECB) and Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) are examined to show how one may take advantage of qualitative computational models to evaluate reacha-bility properties of reactive systems. In contrast to the thesis, advanced by EOCS, that computational models are not adequate representations of the simulated empirical systems, it is shown how the representational adequacy of qualitative models is essential to evaluate reachability properties. Justification theory, if not playing an essential role in EOCS, is exhibited to be involved in the process of advancing and corroborating model-based hypotheses about empirical systems in ECB and ABM. Finally , the practice of evaluating model-based hypothesis by testing the simulated systems is shown to constitute an argument in favour of the thesis that computer simulations in ECB and ABM can be put on a par with scientific experiments.

Building and Integrating Semantic Theories over Institutions

by Nicola Angius and Maria Dimarogkona

Algebraic Modeling of Topological and Computational Structures and Applications, 2017

This paper constitutes a first attempt at constructing semantic theories over institutions and ex... more This paper constitutes a first attempt at constructing semantic theories over institutions and examining the logical relations holding between different such theories. Our results show that this approach can be very useful for theoretical computer science (and may also contribute to the current philosophical debate regarding the semantic and the syntactic presentation of scientific theories). First we provide a definition of semantic theories in the institution theory framework - in terms of a set of models satisfying a given set of sentences - using the language-independent satisfaction relation characterizing institutions. Then we give a proof of the logical equivalence holding between the syntactic and the semantic presentation of a theory, based on the Galois connection holding between sentences and models.We also show how to integrate and combine semantic theories using colimits. Finally we establish when the output of a model-based software verification method applied to a semantic theory over an institution also holds for a semantic theory defined over a different institution.

The Logic of Identity and Copy for Computational Artefacts

by Giuseppe Primiero and Nicola Angius

Journal of Logic and Computation (forth)

Defining identity for entities is a longstanding logical problem in philosophy, and it has resurf... more Defining identity for entities is a longstanding logical problem in philosophy, and it has resurfaced in current investigations within the philosophy of technology. The problem has not yet been explored for the philosophy of information, and of Computer Science in particular. This paper provides a logical analysis of identity and copy for computational artefacts. Identity is here understood as the relation holding between an instance of a computational artefact and itself. By contrast, the copy relation holds between two distinct computational artefacts. We distinguish among exact, inexact and approximate copies. We use process algebra to provide suitable formal definitions of these relations, using in particular the notion of bisimulation to define identity and exact copies, and simulation for inexact and approximate copies. Equivalence is unproblematic for identical computational artefacts at each individual time and for inexact copies; we will examine to which extent the formal constraints on identity criteria discussed in the literature are satisfied by our approach. As for inexact and approximate copy, they are intended as a weakening of the identity relation in that equivalence and other constraints on identity are violated. The proposed approach also suggests a computable treatment of identity and copy checking.

Building and Integrating Semantic Theories over Institutions

In S. Lambropoulou, D. Theodorou, P. Stefaneas & L. H. Kauffman (Eds), Algebraic Modeling of Topological and Computational Structures and Applications, Springer, PROMS series, 2017

This paper constitutes a first attempt at constructing semantic theories over institutions and e... more This paper constitutes a first attempt at constructing semantic theories
over institutions and examining the logical relations holding between different such
theories. Our results show that this approach can be very useful for theoretical computer
science (and may also contribute to the current philosophical debate regarding
the semantic and the syntactic presentation of scientific theories). First we provide
a definition of semantic theories in the institution theory framework - in terms of a
set of models satisfying a given set of sentences - using the language-independent
satisfaction relation characterizing institutions (Definition 3). Then we give a proof
of the logical equivalence holding between the syntactic and the semantic presentation
of a theory, based on the Galois connection holding between sentences and
models (Theorem 1).We also show how to integrate and combine semantic theories
using colimits (Theorem 2). Finally we establish when the output of a model-based
software verification method applied to a semantic theory over an institution also
holds for a semantic theory defined over a different institution (Theorem 3).

PHILOSOPHY OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

by Nicola Angius and Raymond Turner

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP). http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/computer-science/, Aug 21, 2013

"For nearly every field of study, there is a branch of philosophy, called the philosophy of that ... more "For nearly every field of study, there is a branch of philosophy, called the philosophy of that field. …Since the main purpose of a given field of study is to contribute to knowledge, the philosophy of X is, at least in part, a branch of epistemology. Its purpose is to provide an account of the goals, methodology, and subject matter of X. (Shapiro 1983: 525)

The philosophy of computer science is concerned with those philosophical issues that arise from within the academic discipline of computer science. It is intended to be the philosophical endeavor that stands to computer science as philosophy of mathematics does to mathematics and philosophy of technology does to technology. Indeed, the abstract nature of computer science, coupled with its technological ambitions, ensures that many of the conceptual questions that arise in the philosophies of mathematics and technology have computational analogues. In addition, the subject will draw in variants of some of the central questions in the philosophies of mind, language and science. We shall concentrate on a tightly related group of topics which form the spine of the subject. These include specification, implementation, semantics, programs, programming, correctness, abstraction and computation."

The Simulative Role of Neural Language Models in Brain Language Processing

This paper provides an epistemological and methodological analysis of the recent practice of usin... more This paper provides an epistemological and methodological analysis of the recent practice of using neural language models to simulate brain language processing. It is argued that, on the one hand, this practice can be understood as an instance of the traditional simulative method in artificial intelligence, following a mechanistic understanding of the mind; on the other hand, that it modifies the simulative method significantly. Firstly, neural language models are introduced; a study case showing how neural language models are being applied in cognitive neuroscience for simulative purposes is then presented; after recalling the main epistemological features of the simulative method in artificial intelligence, it is finally highlighted how the epistemic opacity of neural language models is tackled by using the brain itself to simulate the neural language model and to test hypotheses about it, in what is called here a co-simulation.

The logical structure of modular semantic theories of software systems

Metaphilosophy, 2024

Scientific activities are concerned with the construction, the evaluation, and the refinement of ... more Scientific activities are concerned with the construction, the evaluation, and the refinement of theories whose statements can be predictive with respect to the represented systems' behaviours. In the context of the Philosophy of Computer Science (Angius et al. 2021), empirical theories of software systems have been acknowledged, consistent with the semantic view of theories (Suppe 1989), in terms of the family of computational models representing the potential executions of the software under examination (Angius and Tamburrini 2011). According to

On the Experimental Foundation of Computing

Axiomathes, 32(3), 1221–1236, 2022

This paper offers a review of Giuseppe Primero's (2020) book "On the foundations of computing". M... more This paper offers a review of Giuseppe Primero's (2020) book "On the foundations of computing". Mathematical, engineering, and experimental foundations of the science of computing are examined under the light of the notions of formal, physical, and experimental computational validity provided by the author. It is challenged the thesis that experimental computational validity can be defined only for the algorithmic method and not for the software development process. The notions of computational hypothesis and computational experiment provided by Primiero (2020) are extended to the case of software development. Finally, it is highlighted how the hypothetical-deductive method is involved in the practice of using models to corroborate computational hypotheses in software testing. As a concluding remark, it is underlined how defining experimental computational validity in the context of software development offers a sound experimental foundation to the science of computing.

Can Computer Programs be Formally Verified

APhEx, 28, 322-338., 2023

This paper examines one central problem in the philosophy of computer science, namely the questio... more This paper examines one central problem in the philosophy of computer science, namely the question of whether computer programs can be verified by means of a mathematical proof. Firstly, program verification is defined and the classical debate on its feasibility is recalled under the light of a dual ontology of computational systems. Secondly, the current resurgence of the debate is analysed underlining its logical and philosophical motivations. Finally, it is shown how adopting a stratified ontology for computational systems one may recombine the different positions in the debate, arguing how program verification involves both deductive and inductive reasoning.

Co-Simulations of Brain Language Processing using Neural Language Models

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (Vol. 46)., 2024

This paper provides an epistemological and methodological analysis of the practice of using neura... more This paper provides an epistemological and methodological analysis of the practice of using neural language models to simulate brain language processing. Firstly, neural language models are introduced; a study case showing how neural language models are being applied in cognitive neuroscience for simulative purposes is then presented; after recalling the main epistemological features of the simulative method in artificial intelligence, it is finally examined how the simulative method is modified when using neural language models. In particular, it is argued that the epistemic opacity of neural language models requires that the brain itself be used to simulate the model and to test hypotheses about the model, in what is called here a co-simulation.

What is (the philosophy of) Computer Science

Central Themes and Open Questions in the Philosophy of Computer Science

Global Philosophy, 2023

This paper introduces the Global Philosophy symposium on Giuseppe Primiero's book On the Foundati... more This paper introduces the Global Philosophy symposium on Giuseppe Primiero's book On the Foundations of Computing (2020). The collection gathers commentaries and responses of the author with the aim of engaging with some open questions in the philosophy of computer science. Firstly, this paper introduces the central themes addressed in Primiero's book; secondly, it highlights some of the main critiques from commentators in order to, finally, pinpoint some conceptual challenges indicating future directions for the philosophy of computer science.

From Coding To Curing. Functions, Implementations, and Correctness in Deep Learning

This paper sheds light on the shift that is taking place from the practice of 'coding', namely de... more This paper sheds light on the shift that is taking place from the practice of 'coding', namely developing programs as conventional in the software community, to the practice of 'curing', an activity that has emerged in the last few years in Deep Learning (DL) and that amounts to curing the data regime to which a DL model is exposed during training. Initially, the curing paradigm is illustrated by means of a study-case on autonomous vehicles. Subsequently, the shift from coding to curing is analysed taking into consideration the epistemological notions, central in the philosophy of computer science, of function, implementation, and correctness. First, it is illustrated how, in the curing paradigm, the functions performed by the trained model depend much more on dataset curation rather than on the model algorithms which, in contrast with the coding paradigm, do not comply with requested specifications. Second, it is highlighted how DL models cannot be considered implementations according to any of the available definitions of implementation that follow an intentional theory of functions. Finally, it is argued that DL models cannot be evaluated in terms of their correctness but rather in their experimental computational validity.

Copying Safety and Liveness Properties of Computational Artefacts

Journal of Logic and Computation, 2022

This paper shows how safety and liveness properties are not necessarily preserved by different ki... more This paper shows how safety and liveness properties are not necessarily preserved by different kinds of copies of computational artefacts and proposes procedures to preserve them that are consistent with ethical analyses on software property rights infringement. Safety and liveness are second-order properties that are crucial in the definition of the formal ontology of computational artefacts. Software copies are analysed at the level of their formal models as exact, inexact, and approximate copies, according to the taxonomy in (Angius and Primiero, 2018). First, it is explained how exact copies are the only kind of copies that preserve safety and liveness properties, and how inexact and approximate copies do not necessarily preserve them. Secondly, two model checking algorithms are proposed to verify whether inexact and approximate copies actually preserve safety and liveness properties. Essential properties of termination, correctness, and complexity are proved for these algorithms. Finally, contraction and expansion algorithmic operations are defined, allowing for the automatic design of safety-and liveness-preserving approximate copies. As a conclusion, the relevance of the present logical analysis for the ongoing debates in miscomputation and computer ethics is highlighted.

The Philosophy of Computer Science

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2021

The philosophy of computer science is concerned with the ontological and methodological issues ar... more The philosophy of computer science is concerned with the ontological and methodological issues arising from within the academic discipline of computer science, and from the practice of software development and its commercial and industrial deployment. More specifically, the philosophy of computer science considers the ontology and epistemology of computational systems, focusing on problems associated with their specification, programming, implementation, verification and testing. The complex nature of computer programs ensures that many of the conceptual questions raised by the philosophy of computer science have related ones in the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of empirical sciences, and the philosophy of technology. We shall provide an analysis of such topics that reflects the layered nature of the ontology of computational systems in Sections 1-5; we then discuss topics involved in their methodology in Sections 6-8.

Software Verification and Scientific Methodology: Models, Regularities, Abstractions

Essential traits of model checking, a prominent formal method utilized in computer science to pre... more Essential traits of model checking, a prominent formal method utilized in computer science to predict future behaviours of software systems, are examined here in the framework of the modelbased paradigm of scientific reasoning. Models that model checking techniques enable one to develop are shown to satisfy logical requirements expressed by the set-theoretic view of scientific models. It is highlighted how model checking algorithms are able to isolate law-like generalizations holding in the model under given ceteris paribus conditions and concerning software executions. Furthermore, abstraction methodologies utilized in model checking to decrease the state space of complex models are taken to be instantiations of the general process known as Aristotelian abstraction characterizing empirical modelling. Finally, the methodological interest of the model-checking techniques is emphasized in connection with the debate concerning the epistemological status of computer science. 1. Software...

From simulative programs as theories to theories of simulative programs

Computational Idealizations in Software Intensive Science: a Comment on Symons’ and Horner’s paper

Philosophy & Technology, 2014

This commentary on John Symons' and Jack Horner's paper, besides sharing its main argument, chall... more This commentary on John Symons' and Jack Horner's paper, besides sharing its main argument, challenges the authors' statement that there is no effective method to evaluate software intensive systems as a distinguishing feature of software intensive science. It is underlined here how analogous methodological limitations characterise the evaluations of empirical systems in non-software intensive sciences. The authors' claim that formal methods establish the correctness of computational models rather than of the represented program is here compared with the empirical adequacy problem typifying the model-based reasoning approach in physics. And the remark that testing all the paths of a software intensive system is unfeasible is related to the enumerative induction problem in the justification of empirical law-like hypotheses in non-software intensive sciences.

On the Mutual Dependence between Formal Methods and Empirical Testing in Program Verification

Philosophy and Technology, 2019

This paper provides a review of Raymond Turner's book Computational Artifacts. Towards a Philos... more This paper provides a review of Raymond Turner's book Computational Artifacts. Towards a Philosophy of Computer Science. Focus is made on the definition of program correctness as the twofold problem of evaluating whether both the symbolic program and the physical implementation satisfy a set of specifications. The review stresses how these are not two separate problems. First, it is highlighted how formal proofs of correctness need to rely on the analysis of physical computational processes. Secondly, it is underlined how software testing requires considering the formal relations holding between the specifications and the symbolic program. Such a mutual dependency between formal and empirical program verification methods is finally shown to influence the debate on the epistemological status of computer science.

Infringing Software Property Rights: Ontological, Methodological and Ethical Questions.

by Giuseppe Primiero and Nicola Angius

Philosophy & Technology, 2019

This paper contributes to the computer ethics debate on software ownership protection by examinin... more This paper contributes to the computer ethics debate on software ownership protection by examining the ontological, methodological, and ethical problems related to property rights 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 software system is a copy of another system. And the ethical problem corresponds to establishing when a copy constitutes, or does not constitute, a property rights infringement. The ontological problem is solved on the logical analysis of abstract machines, and the latter are argued to be the appropriate level of abstraction for software at which the methodological and the ethical problems can be successfully addressed.

Qualitative Models in Computational Simulative Sciences: Representation, Confirmation, Experimentation

Minds and Machines, 2019

The Epistemology Of Computer Simulation (EOCS) has developed as an epistemological and methodolog... more The Epistemology Of Computer Simulation (EOCS) has developed as an epistemological and methodological analysis of simulative sciences using quantitative computational models to represent and predict empirical phenomena of interest. In this paper, Executable Cell Biology (ECB) and Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) are examined to show how one may take advantage of qualitative computational models to evaluate reacha-bility properties of reactive systems. In contrast to the thesis, advanced by EOCS, that computational models are not adequate representations of the simulated empirical systems, it is shown how the representational adequacy of qualitative models is essential to evaluate reachability properties. Justification theory, if not playing an essential role in EOCS, is exhibited to be involved in the process of advancing and corroborating model-based hypotheses about empirical systems in ECB and ABM. Finally , the practice of evaluating model-based hypothesis by testing the simulated systems is shown to constitute an argument in favour of the thesis that computer simulations in ECB and ABM can be put on a par with scientific experiments.

Building and Integrating Semantic Theories over Institutions

by Nicola Angius and Maria Dimarogkona

Algebraic Modeling of Topological and Computational Structures and Applications, 2017

This paper constitutes a first attempt at constructing semantic theories over institutions and ex... more This paper constitutes a first attempt at constructing semantic theories over institutions and examining the logical relations holding between different such theories. Our results show that this approach can be very useful for theoretical computer science (and may also contribute to the current philosophical debate regarding the semantic and the syntactic presentation of scientific theories). First we provide a definition of semantic theories in the institution theory framework - in terms of a set of models satisfying a given set of sentences - using the language-independent satisfaction relation characterizing institutions. Then we give a proof of the logical equivalence holding between the syntactic and the semantic presentation of a theory, based on the Galois connection holding between sentences and models.We also show how to integrate and combine semantic theories using colimits. Finally we establish when the output of a model-based software verification method applied to a semantic theory over an institution also holds for a semantic theory defined over a different institution.

The Logic of Identity and Copy for Computational Artefacts

by Giuseppe Primiero and Nicola Angius

Journal of Logic and Computation (forth)

Defining identity for entities is a longstanding logical problem in philosophy, and it has resurf... more Defining identity for entities is a longstanding logical problem in philosophy, and it has resurfaced in current investigations within the philosophy of technology. The problem has not yet been explored for the philosophy of information, and of Computer Science in particular. This paper provides a logical analysis of identity and copy for computational artefacts. Identity is here understood as the relation holding between an instance of a computational artefact and itself. By contrast, the copy relation holds between two distinct computational artefacts. We distinguish among exact, inexact and approximate copies. We use process algebra to provide suitable formal definitions of these relations, using in particular the notion of bisimulation to define identity and exact copies, and simulation for inexact and approximate copies. Equivalence is unproblematic for identical computational artefacts at each individual time and for inexact copies; we will examine to which extent the formal constraints on identity criteria discussed in the literature are satisfied by our approach. As for inexact and approximate copy, they are intended as a weakening of the identity relation in that equivalence and other constraints on identity are violated. The proposed approach also suggests a computable treatment of identity and copy checking.

Building and Integrating Semantic Theories over Institutions

In S. Lambropoulou, D. Theodorou, P. Stefaneas & L. H. Kauffman (Eds), Algebraic Modeling of Topological and Computational Structures and Applications, Springer, PROMS series, 2017

This paper constitutes a first attempt at constructing semantic theories over institutions and e... more This paper constitutes a first attempt at constructing semantic theories
over institutions and examining the logical relations holding between different such
theories. Our results show that this approach can be very useful for theoretical computer
science (and may also contribute to the current philosophical debate regarding
the semantic and the syntactic presentation of scientific theories). First we provide
a definition of semantic theories in the institution theory framework - in terms of a
set of models satisfying a given set of sentences - using the language-independent
satisfaction relation characterizing institutions (Definition 3). Then we give a proof
of the logical equivalence holding between the syntactic and the semantic presentation
of a theory, based on the Galois connection holding between sentences and
models (Theorem 1).We also show how to integrate and combine semantic theories
using colimits (Theorem 2). Finally we establish when the output of a model-based
software verification method applied to a semantic theory over an institution also
holds for a semantic theory defined over a different institution (Theorem 3).

PHILOSOPHY OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

by Nicola Angius and Raymond Turner

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP). http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/computer-science/, Aug 21, 2013

"For nearly every field of study, there is a branch of philosophy, called the philosophy of that ... more "For nearly every field of study, there is a branch of philosophy, called the philosophy of that field. …Since the main purpose of a given field of study is to contribute to knowledge, the philosophy of X is, at least in part, a branch of epistemology. Its purpose is to provide an account of the goals, methodology, and subject matter of X. (Shapiro 1983: 525)

The philosophy of computer science is concerned with those philosophical issues that arise from within the academic discipline of computer science. It is intended to be the philosophical endeavor that stands to computer science as philosophy of mathematics does to mathematics and philosophy of technology does to technology. Indeed, the abstract nature of computer science, coupled with its technological ambitions, ensures that many of the conceptual questions that arise in the philosophies of mathematics and technology have computational analogues. In addition, the subject will draw in variants of some of the central questions in the philosophies of mind, language and science. We shall concentrate on a tightly related group of topics which form the spine of the subject. These include specification, implementation, semantics, programs, programming, correctness, abstraction and computation."

Organizer of the 5th World Congress and School on Universal Logic. Istanbul 2015

by JY B, Maarten McKubre-Jordens, Fabien Schang, Thalia Magioglou, Luis Estrada-González, Carlos Cesar Jimenez, Nicola Angius, Christoph Benzmüller, and Tia Trafford

http://www.uni-log.org/enter-istanbul

What is (the philosophy of) Computer Science?

Metascience, 2023

On the Experimental Foundation of Computing

Axiomathes, 2022

This paper offers a review of Giuseppe Primero’s (2020) book “On the foundations of computing”. M... more This paper offers a review of Giuseppe Primero’s (2020) book “On the foundations of computing”. Mathematical, engineering, and experimental foundations of the science of computing are examined under the light of the notions of formal, physical, and experimental computational validity provided by the author. It is challenged the thesis that experimental computational validity can be defined only for the algorithmic method and not for the software development process. The notions of computational hypothesis and computational experiment provided by Primiero (2020) are extended to the case of software development. Finally, it is highlighted how the hypothetical-deductive method is involved in the practice of using models to corroborate computational hypotheses in software testing. As a concluding remark, it is underlined how defining experimental computational validity in the context of software development offers a sound experimental foundation to the science of computing.