Philosophy for the working programmer.

Disclaimer

I have not formally studied this stuff it just what I have picked up here and there.

Epistemology

• The theory of knowledge.
• Putting aside the issue of what knowledge is.
• Concentrate on sources of knowledge.

Rationalism

• The mind through the use of reason can directly grasp truth.
• You do not need sensory information.
• It is deterministic.

Empiricism

• The truth as much as it can be known is based on experience.
• It is probabilistic.

So

• Domain logic is Rational.
• Rational knowledge can be represented through the type system.
• Environmental concerns (IO) are Empirical in nature.
• They can only be verified via tests.

Ways of looking at the World

The Allegory of the Cave

• Imprisonment in the cave
• Departure from the cave
• Am I inside or outside the cave

Hegelian Dialectic

• Thesis
• Antithesis
• Synthesis

Analytic philosophy

• What are you actually saying.
• You should know the meanings of the words you use.
• You should know what meaning of a word you are using.