Abstract
This paper tries to express a critical point of view on the computational turn in philosophy by looking at a specific field of study: philosophy of science. The paper starts by briefly discussing the main contributions that information and communication technologies have given to the rising of computational philosophy of science, and in particular to the cognitive modelling approach. The main question then arises, concerning how computational models can cope with the presence of tacit knowledge in science. Would it be possible to develop new ways of handling this specific type of knowledge, in order to incorporate it in computational models of scientific thinking? Or should tacit knowledge lead us to other approaches in using computer sciences to model scientific cognition? These questions are addressed by making reference to a detailed case study of a recent innovation development in the field of biotechnology.
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Notes
There can be the possibility that my argument could be affected if we take into greater consideration the distinction between science and technology, as an anonymous reviewer commented on an earlier version of this paper. Even if it is not possible to enter here in detail into this argument, I agree that the influence of tacit knowledge could be more or less pronounced if we analyse different kinds of scientific disciplines or technological innovations, but I don’t think that what really matters here is the distinction between science and technology itself. This specific distinction is very difficult to draw, given the recent developments of research activities: how must we think, for example, of the development of PCR: should we think of it as an example of “applied science”, or just as a technological innovation? And in this last case, how can we justify the fact the Kary Mullis, who discovered the basic features of PCR, was awarded with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993?.
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This article is a revised version of the paper presented at the Second European Conference Computing and Philosophy (E-CAP2004), held at the University of Pavia, Italy (June 3–5, 2004) and chaired by Lorenzo Magnani.
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Pozzali, A. Can tacit knowledge fit into a computer model of scientific cognitive processes? The case of biotechnology. Mind & Society 6, 211–224 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11299-007-0030-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11299-007-0030-x