Attempt of the description of the interconnection between the subjects of philosophy and informatics on the secondary school

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Attempt of the description of the interconnection between the subjects of philosophy and informatics on the secondary school

Marian Ambrozy,

Mgr., PhD.,

Private high school Epoch (Spis Teplice, Slovakia)

Eva Gabonayova,

Church gymnasium Paul Oliva Usak (Poprad, Slovakia)

It is necessary to understand the individuality of the subject of Informatics. This understanding is strongly interconnected with its place within the methodology of science. Philosophical problems concern programming languages themselves as well as Informatics as a science. Philosophical questions of logic and philosophical problems of cybernetics and artificial intelligence also play an important role regarding this problematic. Questions of computer etiquette as well as some questions concerning law are considered to be on the boundary with philosophy as a discipline. The important question here is: Do questions of the philosophy of the Informatics, which have/have not got their parallel in the other area of philosophy, exist in the philosophy of Informatics?

Informatics is a science of information and its automatic processing (it is a science of solving problems using algorithms) by function of computers and their algorithms and programmes. The main subject of the study of the Informatics is the structure, creation, management, storage, obtaining, spreading and transfer of information. Human-computer interaction (HCI) as well as various ways of how people create, use and search information have been getting to the attention of Informatics in the recent years.

We may classify the philosophical problems of Informatics into three main categories: philosophical logic computer etiquette

1. Definition of informatics as a scientific field - in the sense of what the information is (what the data are, etc.)

2. Computer (HW hardware, SW software) - the study of SW, “psyche” (soul of the computer) and HW, an “organism” (physical body) and the communication between them

3. Programming - meaning set of programming paradigms (including structural, functional, logical and object-orientated programming), algorithms, programmes, data, questions like which of the programmes is correct?, what does it mean that it is correct?, evidence of correctness, abstract in the field of Informatics, logic, analysis, synthesis, etc.

The relationship between philosophy and informatics belongs to intersubject relationships, that need to be analyzed as a part of a grammar school curriculum. It is possible to see common elements among different subthemes. For instance the term cybernetics originates from Plato and defines the ability to steer. Lot of ideological streams were rising against cybernetics as a science. Among these were some Marxist thinkers, who considered it as a prescience. Astounding is that even academician Kolmogorov himself dismissed it, but later apologized his opinion with the reasoning of not having of information. Some Calvinist oriented philosophers identified with the opinion that they are talking about prescience directed against gods' predetermination, humans' predestination. The informatics' prehistory itself is connected for example with philosopher Raymond Lullus. This philosopher worked-out a scheme that was basically suppose to answer all questions standing out in philosophy. The solution was introduced in several works (Ars brevis, Ars generalis ultima, Ars magna, Ars demon-strativa, Ars in-ventiva veritatis). Even though the main message of the named publications was the non- believers' conversion- specifically Moslems to Christianity, its result is the design of a scheme for a manufacturing of a device, which will mechanically assure the simulating possibilities of all the combinations in sense of possible metaphysical arrangement of possible worlds. Lullus himself throughout his life modified his conception. In the earlier period of his production “so-called Quaternary phase (years 1274-1289), advocated that the base for the amount of basic principles and figures number four, in which he is mostly influenced mostly by the theory of four elements.”2 Later, he simplified the scheme by replacing number four by Trinitarian principle. Lullus' inventions are the interconnection between logics and ontology. With the aid of certain terms connected with questions, subjects, virtues, filths Lullus points out to the possibilities of relations between systems with God and other objects. As an excuse stands his proceeding from the opinion that triadic world structure is given by purpose as a projection of the Saint Trinity. Based on the figures certain ways of arrangements may exist. He does not mention the calculation of all authentic conclusions due to the fact that the world is endlessly diverse, as with the help of possible conclusions with combinatory-mechanical equipment we can come into forming truthful claims. Combinatorics on the mechanical base helps empiric investigation to reach the found metaphysically right statement. Nota bene, the thought of many possible arrangements of things in god's mind, also discussed by Johannes Duns Scotus.

The first constructor of a typewritter is indeed Wilhelm Schickard, but historically second machine which added and subtracted was created by philosopher Blaise Pascal. His machine was also recorded by famous editors of contemporary knowledge synthesis “Encyclopedia Franchise” Jean Le Rond d' Alembert and Denis Diderot.

Famous thinker who contributed to the development of informatics is philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. He is a constructor of some computer machines that are based on a mechanical principle. There is a statement of his that a apprentice isn't woth the time wasted with calculations as a slave. Leibniz's philosophical outgoings of relationship to the development of the typewriter led through the contacts with mathematicians and physicians to works of Blaiseus Pascal. Based on this, he developed a number of calculating machines. Upgraded versions of Leibniz's calculating machines were able to add, subtract, multiply and divide. Leibniz was an outstanding technician, “he developed a wheel with teeth of variable length and feed cart for moving tens and flexible decimal transition”3. Apart from that, he contributed to the development of informatics by designing a machine that would record by using binary (dyadic) numeric pattern, during which he would technically be using labels with holes, gutters and little balls, showing propositionally logical bonds conjunction, disjunction and the sign of negation. Even though, for the draft application and the use of binary scheme in the computing technology came not before the thirties of the twentieth century, he had the blueprint of the solution ready around year 1680. He was aware that many problems will be empirically checked this way through the calculation, which will save philosophers disputes and that it is definitely from the controversial sides right.

Conrad Zuse, who was very thrilled by the positives of the dual system-binary numeric system was inspired by Leibniz4. In 1938 he created a computer Z1, that was able to add, subtract, multiply, extract the root and convert numbers from denary to binary system and vice versa. George Boole, British logician, followed on thoughts of Lullus and Leibniz. He realized that “logic is indeed counting on extremely small set- it contains two elements (two “numbers” if you wish) namely the Truth is a Lie”5. Furthermore, he found out that even logical connections and expressions are reducible into operations with two mentioned rates. Boole's algebra provides the operation system with logical statements, enables qualification of more complicated compound sentences reducible into record formalization.

In his degree work in 1937, American scientist, Claude Shanon showed the use of Boole's algebra in the construction of switching circuit, where he interconnected the terms of entropy and information. By this, he showed the connection between thoughts of philosophers Lullus and Leibniz with designing a modern electronic computers.

Some theorist who are trying to interpret the nature of information refer to Aristotle's metaphysic. They claim that the nature of information lasts as a form. They answer the question whether it has a substantive carrier in different ways. From this point of view they even consider Thomas Aquinas the father of informatics, according the opinion, a man has a spiritual information from Christian known God, and his thinking is a alteration of this information. Logical positivism, among which we can consider earlier period of Rudolf Carnap's lifework, that understands an information as an ultimate symbol or sign, to which it may not correspond. Some philosophers reckon that cybernetic thinking will overcome the problem of bifurcation of thinking and being (even Parmenides deals with the problem), others that cybernetics will provide with the new neutral answer which will tell that informatics is something in between consciousness and matter whereby the problematic of primacy and consciousness is in the process of destruction. The other group argues that the unity of matter and spirituality occurs on this base. Marxist philosophers are in the position, that consciousness and information came out of matter and is its reflection. Rudolf Carnap espoused the idea that information content - information content is connected with objective reality. He advocated the united formalistic language. Some theoretical problems were being solved directly by Carnap's students. He himself was trying to find “such a definition of the amount of information that would affect content (semantic) side of the information.”

In the reasoning of the problem prehistory, whether a human can be replaced by a machine and how does the human thinking function in the context of connection with body Rene Desartes6 brings certain opinions. With his concept of reflex arc, on which animals function as pure res extensa, he inspired not only biologist I. P Pavlov but also a philosopher J. O. de la Matrie. Last named describes on the principle if reflex arc functioning of man as a complex machine, that is just a more complex analogy of animals.

Problem with spontaneousness in computer is also a problem of philosophic nature. Random numbers generator in the computer is not just a pseudo-random process. While Laplace is a supporter of consistent predictability, for instance Epikuros already admits the no predictability of atoms. G. W. F. Hegel in this relation talks about dialectical unity of necessity and coincidence.

Literature

1 This article has been created with an honour of the 85th anniversary of the birth of the great Slovak scientist, author of the first Slovak computer

and the first rector of Universitas Trenchiniensis academician prof. Ing. Ivan Plander, DrSc., dr. h. c. mult. (* 1928).

2 Volek, Peter; Rajmundus Lullus Ars brevis Uvod do diela, In: Antologia z diel filozofov patristika a scholastika, Bratislava, 2009, ISBN 978-80¬

7141-623-4, s. 291.

3 Naumann, Friedrich; Dejiny informatiky, Praha, 2009, ISBN 978-80- 200-1730-7, s. 71.

4 See also Guncaga, Jan: Ine ciselne sustavy, In: Matematika v priprave ucitel'ov 1. stupna ZS. Zbornik konferencie, UMB, Banska Bystrica

2001, pp. 109 - 112, ISBN 80-8055-519-2.

5 Mares, Milan; Pribehy matematiky, Pribram, 2011, ISBN 978-80-87053-64-5, s. 213.

6 Functional thinking is possible to find in Guncaga, Jan: Matematicka analyza, Ruzomberok : Katolicka univerzita, 2008. - 152 pp. - ISBN

978-80-8084-401-1.

1. Guncaga, Jan: Matematicka analyza, Ruzomberok : Katolicka univerzita, 2008, ISBN 978-80-8084-401-1.

2. Guncaga, Jan: Ine ciselne sustavy, In: Matematika v priprave ucitel'ov 1. stupna ZS. Zbornik z konferencie, UMB, Banska Bystrica 2001, ISBN 80-8055-519-2.

3. Mares, Milan; Pribehy matematiky, Pribram, 2011, ISBN 978-80-87053-64-5.

4. Naumann, Friedrich; Dejiny informatiky, Praha, 2009, ISBN 978-80- 200-1730-7.

5. Volek, Peter; Rajmundus Lullus Ars brevis Uvod do diela, In: Antologia z diel filozofov patristika a scholastika, Bratislava, 2009,

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