Software Needs Philosophers (2006)

Re:Software Needs Philosophers (2006) by AnimalMuppet on Monday December 14, 2020 @12:43PM (#25420530)

> The utility of philosophy is that we create a shared lexicon and set of ideas to make sense of the world and be able to create new things in the world and communicate them to one another.

Honest question: What "new things" has philosophy created?

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Re:Software Needs Philosophers (2006) by FriedrichN on Tuesday December 15, 2020 @03:28AM (#25428220)

First off, I'm of the opinion that history moves forward by the actions of individuals and that technology is a main driving factor, not ideas.

That being said, people like Pythagoras, Thales, Goethe, da Vinci, and many others were simultaneously artists, scientists, as well as philosophers. I agree to a certain degree with the GP that philosophy is mostly post-rationalising of existing phenomena. It's the creation of these ideas that allow for deeper thought and exchange of these ideas. Einstein had the idea of relativity before he could prove it.

When it comes to creating 'new things', it seems an individual's curiosity and serendipity is what drives innovation. But I think one must not underestimate the role philosophy plays in this as it can give one's thought direction.

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Re:Software Needs Philosophers (2006) by bonoboTP on Tuesday December 15, 2020 @05:36AM (#25428941)

Especially social philosophers like Rousseau, Marx, and various ideologues created a lot of social power structures.

Things like separation of powers. Humanist philosophers have influenced the way we see the role of the individual vs a member of a collective and so on.

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