Mathematical Explanation in Computer Science.

This note scouts a broad but underexplored class of explanations found in contemporary computer science. These explanations, which I call limitative explanations, explain why certain problems cannot be solved computationally. Limitative explanations are philosophically rich, but have not received th...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Philosophy of Science Vol. 90; no. 5; pp. 1079 - 1089
Autor principal: Curtis-Trudel, André
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Cambridge University Press Dec2023
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:This note scouts a broad but underexplored class of explanations found in contemporary computer science. These explanations, which I call limitative explanations, explain why certain problems cannot be solved computationally. Limitative explanations are philosophically rich, but have not received the attention they deserve. The primary goals of this note are to isolate limitative explanations and provide a preliminary account of what makes them explanatory. On the account I favor, limitative explanations are a kind of non-causal mathematical explanation which depend on highly idealized models of computation.