This volume provides a lucid and stimulating introduction to some of the most fascinating ideas explored in contemporary philosophy and science. It is about the philosophical foundations of artificial intelligence in particular and computer science in general, and the contributions that philosophy and computer science can make to each other. It asks where computer science fits as a science, how philosophy can guide computer science, and how work in computer science can shape one's philosophy.

The author, who is both a philosopher and a computer scientist, supplies a framework that is historical and analytical, explaining the philosophical origins of many problems that are raised by modern computing machines.