International Association for Computing and Philosophy (IACAP)

celebrating 25 years of Computing and Philosophy (CAP) conferences

Conference Theme: “The Computational Turn: Past, Presents, Futures?”

Important dates

Feb 15, 2011: Abstract submission deadline

March 15, 2011: Notification of acceptance

April 15, 2011: Early registration deadline

NB: Up to six bursaries of $500.00 each will be awarded to authors of the best PhD student or

post-doc extended abstract, in support of travel and related costs for attending IACAP‟11.

Organizing Chair

Charles Ess (Department of Information- and Media Studies, Aarhus University)

<imvce@hum.au.dk>

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Presidential address: Tony Beavers, “Is Ethics Computable, or What Other than Can Does

Ought Imply?”

Covey Lifetime Achievement Award: Terrell (Terry) Ward Bynum, Professor of Philosophy at

Southern Connecticut State University; Director of the Research Center on Computing &

Society. Lecture title: “Information and Deep Metaphysics”

Conference Theme, “The Computational Turn: Past, Presents, Futures?”

In the West, philosophical attention to computation and computational devices is at least as

old as Leibniz. But since the early 1940s, electronic computers have evolved from a few

machines filling several rooms to widely diffused – indeed, ubiquitous – devices, ranging

from networked desktops, laptops, smartphones and “the internet of things.” Along the way,

initial philosophical attention – in particular, to the ethical and social implications of these

devices (so Norbert Wiener, 1950) – became sufficiently broad and influential as to justify the

phrase “the computational turn” by the 1980s. In part, the computational turn referred to the

multiple ways in which the increasing availability and usability of computers allowed

philosophers to explore a range of traditional philosophical interests – e.g., in logic, artificial

intelligence, philosophical mathematics, ethics, political philosophy, epistemology, ontology,

to name a few – in new ways, often shedding significant new light on traditional issues and

arguments. Simultaneously, computer scientists, mathematicians, and others whose work

focused on computation and computational devices often found their work to evoke (if not

force) reflection and debate precisely on the philosophical assumptions and potential

implications of their research. These two large streams of development - especially as calling

for necessary interdisciplinary dialogues that crossed what were otherwise often hard

disciplinary boundaries – inspired what became the first of the Computing and Philosophy

(CAP) conferences in 1986 (devoted to Computer-Assisted Instruction in philosophy).

Since 1986, CAP conferences have grown in scope and range, to include a bewildering array

of intersections between computation and philosophy as explored across a global range of

cultures and traditions. In keeping with what has now become a significant tradition,

IACAP‟11 will accept presentations across this array and range. At the same time, in order to

recognize and celebrate the 25th anniversary of the CAP conferences, we specifically

encourage submissions that include attention to the past, present(s), and possible future(s) of

their foci as expressions of this computational turn.

SUBMISSIONS – due February 15, 2011

Authors should submit an electronic version of an extended abstract (total word count

approximately 1000 words) to the chair of the track most closely affiliated with the proposed

paper topic(s): see list of tracks and chair(s) below. The file should also contain a 350 word

abstract that will be used for the conference web site/booklet.

NB: if you are a PhD- or post-doc student who would like for your extended abstract to be

considered in the competition for the travel bursaries, be sure to indicate this in your

submission.

VIII. IT, Culture and Globalization

Chair: Soraj Hongladarom (Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok:

<s.hongladarom@gmail.com>)

Chair: Philip Brey (Twente: <P.A.E.Brey@utwente.nl>)

This track focuses on a web of problems that emerge as a result of the interaction among IT,

cultures and globalization. IT has been a powerful engine of globalization; not only is

information itself moving at the speed of light, but the information embodies ideas,

worldviews, as well as huge amount of funds. It also embodies either powerful way of

keeping governments in line or potential threats to security in the case of Wikileaks, whose

influence clearly is not limited only to the US. This flow of information does not respect

national borders or cultural boundaries. It is very interesting to learn how we can come to

terms with this phenomenon, especially in the philosophical, normative sense.

So we look for abstracts that deal, for example, with ethical implications of globalizing

information as well as theoretical analysis of the phenomenon in terms of whether local

cultures will be obliterated or whether they can retain their identities in one way or another.

Papers dealing with IT, culture and globalization in other ways will be considered too.