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(Created page with "PHI598 Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence   Hybrid  3 credit hours Barry Smith Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the subfield of Computer Science devoted to developing programs that enable computers to display behavior that can be characterized as intelligent. The ultimate goal of many AI researchers is to create what is called General Artificial Intelligence (AGI), by which is meant an artificial system that is as intelligent as a human being. Recent successes o...")
 
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[[Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence - Fall 2025]]
PHI598 Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence   Hybrid  3 credit hours Barry Smith
PHI598 Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence   Hybrid  3 credit hours Barry Smith


Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the subfield of Computer Science devoted to developing programs that enable computers to display behavior that can be characterized as intelligent. The ultimate goal of many AI researchers is to create what is called General Artificial Intelligence (AGI), by which is meant an artificial system that is as intelligent as a human being. Recent successes of ChatGPT and other Large Language Models (LLMs) have opened a new era of popularization of AI. For the first time, AI tools have been created which are immediately available to the wider population, who for the first time can have real hands-on experience of what AI can do. These developments open up a series of recognizably philosophical questions such as:Could we ever reach the point where we can accept the thesis that an AI system could have something like consciousness or sentience?Could we reach the point where an AI system could be said to behave ethically, or to have responsibility for its actions?Can a computer have desires, a will, and emotions?Can a computer have responsibility for its behavior?Could a machine have something like a personal identity? Would I really survive if the contents of my brain were uploaded to the cloud?
 
Graduate seminar, Fall Semester 2025, 3 credit hours, Hybrid, Synchronous, Monday 1-3:40pm
 
:Graduate [http://www.buffalo.edu/class-schedule?switch=showclass&semester=spring&division=UGRD&dept=PHI&regnum=XXXXX]
 
'''Venue:''' Park 141, UB North Campus
 
'''Instructor''':
:[http://ontology.buffalo.edu/smith/shortcv.htm Barry Smith]
 
'''Prerequisites''': Open to all persons with an undergraduate degree and some knowledge of philosophy
 
'''Office hours''': By appointment via email at [mailto:phismith@buffalo.edu phismith@buffalo.edu]
 
== '''The Course''' ==
''Course Description'': Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the subfield of Computer Science devoted to developing programs that enable computers to display behavior that can be characterized as intelligent. The ultimate goal of many AI researchers is to create what is called General Artificial Intelligence (AGI), by which is meant an artificial system that is as intelligent as a human being. Recent successes of ChatGPT and other Large Language Models (LLMs) have opened a new era of popularization of AI. For the first time, AI tools have been created which are immediately available to the wider population, who for the first time can have real hands-on experience of what AI can do. These developments open up a series of recognizably philosophical questions such as:Could we ever reach the point where we can accept the thesis that an AI system could have something like consciousness or sentience?Could we reach the point where an AI system could be said to behave ethically, or to have responsibility for its actions?Can a computer have desires, a will, and emotions?Can a computer have responsibility for its behavior?Could a machine have something like a personal identity? Would I really survive if the contents of my brain were uploaded to the cloud?
 
 
''Course Structure'': This is a three credit hour graduate seminar.
 
The final session will be structured around powerpoint presentations by the students in the class. These presentations will be recorded.
 
''Target Audience'': The course is open to all interested students with an undergraduate degree and some knowledge of philosophy.
 
''Recommended text'': Jobst Landgrebe and Barry Smith, ''Why Machines Will Never Rule the World'', Routledge 2022, Second Edition in press.
[[Book list]]
 
----
 
'''Schedule'''
 
==August 25 Introduction to the Course==
 
==September 1: Labor Day Observed==
 
==September 11: Husserl, Scheler, Reinach, Ingarden, Wojtyła and Gehlen on the Ontology of Cultural Entities==
 
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/n30l8zimbmsmk66lgyixezecw27lsq6t Slides]
:[https://buffalo.app.box.com/s/29n0p8rnf5oowhf65bzo0ned8e7m3zki/file/1320522021285 Video]
 
:[https://buffalo.box.com/v/Husserl-Nature-and-Spirit Husserl: Nature and Spirit]
:Husserl on [https://philpapers.org/archive/SMICS.pdf Common Sense]
:[https://www.academia.edu/22019677/The_Influence_of_Adolf_Reinach_on_Edith_Steins_Concept_of_the_State_Similarities_and_Differences Reinach and Edith Stein on the State]
:[https://www.phisci.info/jour/article/download/1064/2160 A. A. Чикин (2018) ''Alexander Pfänder and the New Science of Will'']
:[https://illiad-lib-buffalo-edu.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/illiad/illiad.dll?Action=10&Form=75&Value=198170 Reinach and Religious Phenomenology]
:[https://buffalo.box.com/v/Thomasson-on-Ingarden Ingarden and the Ontology of Cultural Objects]
:[https://buffalo.box.com/v/Ingarden-on-Social-Reality Ingarden on the Ontology of Social Reality]
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/bc9em4ipiwwxu75nqk0rw5lhi4olwzbb Gehlen, ''Man'']
:[https://buffalo.box.com/v/Gehlen-on-Institutions Gehlen on Institutions]
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/pww388ftw6n7h1fp4z0bolnkhitg0ney Gehlen on Culture and Institutions]
 
Gehlen: Man is by nature a cultural being
:One can bring together a number of anthropological perspectives into the formula that "man is by nature a cultural being". . . . At any rate, we only know of men in possession of cultural attainments, which, no matter how primitive we may find them, are still so fundamental that human existence would be unthinkable without them. The distinction between natural man and cultured man is therefore imprecise, and taken literally, quite false — only cultured humanity exists or has existed, though with
an astounding range of cultural inventory.
 
Cassirer, ''An Essay on Man'':
:Man cannot escape his own achievement. He cannot but adopt the conditions of his own life. No longer in a merely physical universe, man lives in a symbolic universe. Language, myth, art, and religion are parts of this universe. They are the varied threads which weave the symbolic net, the tangled web of human experience. (…) Physical reality seems to recede in proportion as man’s symbolic activity advances. Instead of dealing with the things themselves man is in a sense constantly conversing with himself. ([https://archive.org/stream/ErnstCassirerAnEssayOnMan/Ernst+Cassirer+-+An+essay+on+man_djvu.txt p. 43], cited in [https://hmbd.wordpress.com/2021/06/05/review-of-ernst-cassirer-an-essay-on-man-1944/ this review])
Background videos
:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWtR-UpLhjM Space]
:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRZzYR6_jho Document Acts]
 
The natural attitude of [https://philarchive.org/rec/SMICS common sense]
:[https://philpapers.org/versions/SMIDME-2 Primary vs secondary theory]
::[https://brill.com/previewpdf/journals/jra/26/1/article-p73_5.xml#:~:text='primary%20theory'%20is%20more%20or,contexts%20of%20ordinary%20experience%20from Robin Horton]
 
Readings:
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/x79bt2hfl39mmlsehgtb50h5te6wl736 The Social World: An Inquiry into the Foundations of Human Institutions]
:[https://philpapers.org/archive/SMIMS-4.pdf The natural, cultural, cognitive and social niches of human activity]
:[https://buffalo.box.com/v/Political-Ontology A political ontology of territorial boundaries]
:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxihMdMiV0Y Environments Inside and Outside the Organism]
:[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10677-022-10357-x The Justice and Ontology of Gastrospaces]
 
==September 18: No class==
 
==September 25: Adolf Reinach and Hernando de Soto on the Ontology of the Social World==
 
:Part 1: Reinach and the Ontology of Social Acts
:Part 2: de Soto and the Ontology of Extralegal Institutions
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/qvn38eas94tt2fds3prgk59f6d8exmee Slides]
:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3V8UWby2Gw Video]
 
'''Book presentations'''
 
Delaney McNulty on: Angela Roothaan, ''Indigenous, modern and postcolonial relations to nature''
 
Giacomo De Colle on Edith Stein, ''Investigation on the State''
 
Reading: Scott Shapiro, [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2839482 Massively Shared Agency"]
 
==October 2: From Information Artifacts to Shared Agency==
 
Reading: Scott Shapiro, [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2839482 Massively Shared Agency"]
 
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/8m53l4xkyljzwvwa3ea4qzum98xnqrc8 Slides]
:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3V8UWby2Gw Video]
 
Culture, AI and the Digital Realm: Are We Living in a Simulation?
 
'''Book presentations'''
 
Matthew Jones on Nancy Cartwright, ''How the Laws of Physics Lie''
 
Ji Soo Seo on Cartwright's ''How the Laws of Physics Lie'' and Searle's ''Making the Social World''
 
Joshua Billig on Frans de Waal's ''Chimpanzee Politics''
 
:[https://www.seti.org/fermi-paradox-0 Fermi Paradox]
 
:[https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11475 Fermi Paradox and consumerism]
:[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulation_hypothesis Simulation Hypothesis (Bostrom)]
 
:[https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA691314680&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=0307661X&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=nysl_oweb&isGeoAuthType=true&aty=geo Intellectually simulating]
 
:[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-023-09714-w The philosophy of the metaverse]
 
:[https://www.thephilosopher1923.org/post/taking-simulation-seriously Taking Simulation Seriously]
 
:[https://authortomharper.com/2022/03/11/review-of-reality-virtual-worlds-and-the-problems-of-philosophy-by-david-j-chalmers/ Review of Reality+]
 
:[https://buffalo.box.com/v/Scott-Adams-on-Simulation Scott Adams on "The World is a Simulation"]
 
:[https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/02/11/chalmers-reality-review-simulation-hypothesis-philosophy/ Our world might be a simulation. Would that be so bad?]
Modes of existence: fictions and virtual reality
 
:[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-023-09714-w Philosophy and the Metaverse]
 
:[https://buffalo.box.com/v/Walton-on-Make-Believe Mimesis as Make-Believe]
 
:[https://philarchive.org/rec/SMIPAI Pleasure and its modifications]
 
==Oct 9: Fall Break==
 
==October 16: Searle on Money==
 
We will once again summarize Searle's theory of social entities and show that it has a fatal flaw -- which is revealed most easily by the way it treats the phenomenon of money
 
Along the way we will discuss the ontology of blind chess, and the approach to oughtness that is dictated by the Basic Formal Ontology.
 
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/hnyyavqibgsnprnnrh790okhmwezmsyy Slides]
 
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/qt1lrjf3s93jx34f3yu43goleqbofmqj Video]
 
'''Reading'''
:[http://ontology.buffalo.edu/smith/articles/SearleIntro.pdf John Searle: From Speech Acts to Social Reality]
 
==October 23: Aristotle, Common Sense, and the Ontology of Environments ==
 
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/wkgwikqeubyblmqgyupjoixs1ddz3e0p Slides]
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/f3pvc45eoobhe8pdgfugzue1pq19vrby Video]
 
Background reading on common sense
:The natural attitude of [https://philarchive.org/rec/SMICS Common sense]
:[https://philpapers.org/versions/SMIDME-2 Primary vs secondary theory]
:[https://brill.com/previewpdf/journals/jra/26/1/article-p73_5.xml#:~:text='primary%20theory'%20is%20more%20or,contexts%20of%20ordinary%20experience%20from Robin Horton]
:[https://philarchive.org/archive/SMIOAT Life and Motion of Socio-Economic Units]
 
==October 28-29: Gehlen; The Replication Problem; Physics (with Jobst Landgrebe) (weekend block course)==
 
'''Saturday'''
 
:09:00 Gehlen, [https://buffalo.box.com/v/Gehlen-Man-book ''Man: His Nature and Place in the World'']
 
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/z06cea3e63i37vsu21xgpgbwxityhvaa Slides]
 
:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvyNO2uNhQc Video]
 
:12:00 Lunch
 
:13:30 The Crisis of Replication in Science
 
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/8jacd3onkzbaxpd7hf8prv0tia3h0ier Slides]
 
:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVenGEFT4eA Video]
 
:17:00 Close
 
'''Sunday'''
 
:09:00 How we study matter today?: Problems of quantum physics
 
:Reading: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.01560 Ontologies of common sense, physics and mathematics]
 
:[Slides]
 
:12:00 Lunch
 
:13:30 BFO and the ontology of physics
 
:14:45 Break
 
:15:00 A Theory of Historico-Mathematical Entities
 
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/9z8ldsvkpte03sp1wiyzkhbihi0ynomh Slides]
 
:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu7SmiQm_Fs Video]
 
:17:00 Close
 
'''Suggested Reading'''
 
Online
 
:[https://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu Feynman's ''Lectures on Physics'', volumes 1-3]
 
:[https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.14191 t'Hooft: Ontology in quantum mechanics]
 
:[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_New_Mind Roger Penrose on the emperors new mind]
 
Monographs
 
:Nancy Carwright: How the laws of physics lie
 
:Brigitte Falkenburg: [https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-540-33732-4#about-this-book Particle Metaphysics]
::[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355219809000033?via=ihub Review by Steven French]
 
:J.S. Bell: Speakable and unspeakable in quantum mechanics ([https://cqi.inf.usi.ch/qic/Bell1990.pdf Extract])
 
:R. Griffiths: Consistent Quantum Mechanics
 
==October 30: The Ontology of Science, the Canonical Life, Truthmaking==
 
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/1s7numsdsjqdfvrs849q2tlttj7yg2is Slides]
 
Book presentation: Olivia Hobai on ''Man’s Place in Nature'' by Max Scheler
 
The Ontology of Science [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwsBxRs9kns Video]
 
The Canonical Life [https://buffalo.box.com/s/307ylgzg7f4dm008d21d4ybujxdokadd Video]
 
==November 6 Nature, Culture and Mathematics: How to Do Things with Devices (with Elliott Hauser) ==
 
Visiting speaker: [https://elliotthauser.com/ Elliott Hauser], University of Texas at Austin
 
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/36lq7h2ewx5jzkr4k9pwz0pqus3p2ne3 Slides]
:[https://buffalo.box.com/v/Hauser-Factmaking Video]
 
'''Target reading'''
:[https://asistdl.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/asi.24820 Facts in the Machine]
:[https://philarchive.org/rec/SMIHTD How to Do Things with Documents]
 
'''Devices'''
:[https://lambda.casa/chronogeoscope/ Chronogeoscope]
:[https://bigthink.com/hard-science/biosignatures-technosignatures/ The search for biosignatures is hard. Should we look for technosignatures instead?]
 
'''Supplementary readings'''
 
:[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ignacio-Gomez-Garcia/post/I-am-looking-for-the-book-Data-and-Reality-written-by-William-Kent-Does-someone-happen-to-have-apdf-version/attachment/5a92d7d2b53d2f0bba5435e8/AS%3A597946429091842%401519572946521/download/Kent+-+Data+and+reality.pdf William Kent, ''Data and Reality'']
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/zjobd06j084edtct0oicb7ais5x3zgvv Documentality Beyond Documents]
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/1tfse1v956kxk6itmqef1pxbe17njeh6 Semantics of Clocks]
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/drpivv1xqrmlmqylnqbicymtu4pri277 Smearing Time]
 
==November 13 Student Projects ==
 
1:00pm Delaney McNulty: Gehlen, Henrich and Distributed Cognition
 
1:40pm Jisoo Seo: Race as Social/Natural Kinds in BFO
 
2:00pm Matthew Jones: Zombie Documents And The Curse Of Inappropriately Enduring Punishment
 
2:20pm Giacommo de Colle: Edith Stein on the Essence of the State
 
== '''Student Learning Outcomes''' ==
         
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Program Outcomes/Competencies 
! Instructional Method(s)
! Assessment Method(s)
|-
| The student will acquire a knowledge of the philosophy of both the natural and social sciences. 
| Lectures and class discussions
| Review of reading matter and associated online content and participation in class discussions
|-
| The student will acquire experience in using the methods of philosophical argument, in formulating complex propositions on the interrelations between between matter and mind and between nature and culture
 
| Participation in practical experiments
| Review of results
|-
| The student will acquire experience in formulating ideas using powerful persuasive prose.
| Creation of documentation and youtube presentations
| Review of results
|}
 
=='''How to Write an Essay'''==
 
:Steven Pinker, ''The Sense of Style'', Penguin Books, 2014
:Strunk and White, ''[http://www.jlakes.org/ch/web/The-elements-of-style.pdf The Elements of Style]''
:[https://philosophy.fas.harvard.edu/files/phildept/files/brief_guide_to_writing_philosophy_paper.pdf Harvard's guide to writing philosophy]
:[http://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/guidelines/writing.html Jim Pryor's guide to writing philosophy]
:[https://web.archive.org/web/20191209181112/https://jordanbpeterson.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Essay_Writing_Guide.docx Jordan Peterson's Essay Writing Guide]
:[https://buffalo.box.com/s/xku6jc38cx7u1dgm5lteus5qbq7909i9 How to Use ChatGPT to write an essay]
 
=='''Important Dates'''==
{| class = wikitable
|  Sep 11 || - submit book review choice, and start to discuss the content of your essay with Dr Smith
|-
|  Sep 25 || - submit proposed title and abstract of your essay
|-
|  Oct 2|| - last day to ''present'' book summary
|-
|  Oct 23 || - submit a table of contents of your essay and 300 word summary plus draft of associated ppt slides
|-
|  Oct 30 || - submit first draft of essay (~1000 words) and associated powerpoint (~10 slides)
|-
|  Nov 13 || - submit second draft of essay (~2000 words) and associated powerpoint (~10 slides)
|-
|  Nov 13 || - class presentation
|-
|  Dec 10 || - submit final version of essay and powerpoint slides and upload final version of video to youtube
|}
 
=='''Grading'''==
 
Grading will be based on two factors:
 
I: understanding and criticism of the material presented in classes 1-12
 
All students are required to take an active part in class (and where relevant on-line) discussions throughout the semester.
 
II: preparation of an essay, and associated powerpoint slides and recorded presentation.
 
Content and structure of the essay should be discussed with Dr Smith.
 
'''Grading Policy:''' Grading follows standard [http://grad.buffalo.edu/Academics/Policies-Procedures/Grading-Procedures.html Graduate School policies]. Grades will be weighted according to the following breakdown:
 
Weighting Assignment
:20%    - class discussions 
:15%    - youtube video presentation
:15%    - powerpoint slides
:50%    - essay
 
'''Final Grades'''
 
Percentages refer to sum of assignment grades as listed above
 
Grade Quality Percentage
{| class = wikitable
|  A || 4.0 || 90.0% -100.00%
|-
| A- || 3.67 || 87.0% - 89.9%
|-
| B+ || 3.33 || 84.0% - 86.9%
|-
| B || 3.00 || 80.0% - 83.9%
|-
| B- || 2.67 || 77.0% - 79.9%
|-
| C+ || 2.33 || 74.0% - 76.9%
|-
| C || 2.00 || 71.0% - 73.9%
|-
| C- || 1.67 || 68.0% - 70.9%
|-
| D+ || 1.33 || 65.0% - 67.9%
|-
| D || 1.00 || 62.0% - 64.9%
|-
| F || 0 || 61.9% or below
|}
 
An interim grade of Incomplete (I) may be assigned if the student has not completed all requirements for the course. An interim grade of 'I' shall not be assigned to a student who did not attend the course. The default grade accompanying an interim grade of 'I' shall be 'U' and will be displayed on the UB record as 'IU.' The default Unsatisfactory (U) grade shall become the permanent course grade of record if the 'IU' is not changed through formal notice by the instructor upon the student's completion of the course.
 
Assignment of an interim 'IU' is at the discretion of the instructor. A grade of 'IU' can be assigned only if successful completion of unfulfilled course requirements can result in a final grade better than the default 'U' grade. The student should have a passing average in the requirements already completed. The instructor shall provide the student specification, in writing, of the requirements to be fulfilled.
 
The university’s Graduate Incomplete Policy can be found [http://grad.buffalo.edu/study/progress/policylibrary.a-to-z.html#iugrade here].
 
=='''Related Policies and Services'''==
 
'''Academic integrity''' is a fundamental university value. Through the honest completion of academic work, students sustain the integrity of the university while facilitating the university's imperative for the transmission of knowledge and culture based upon the generation of new and innovative ideas. See http://grad.buffalo.edu/Academics/Policies-Procedures/Academic-Integrity.html.
 
'''Accessibility resources:''' If you have any disability which requires reasonable accommodations to enable you to participate in this course, please contact the Office of Accessibility Resources in 60 Capen Hall, 645-2608 and also the instructor of this course during the first week of class. The office will provide you with information and review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodations, which can be found on the web [http://www.buffalo.edu/studentlife/who-we-are/departments/accessibility.html here].
 
'''University suppert services:''' Students are often unaware of university support services. For example, the Center for Excellence in Writing provides support for written work, and several tutoring centers on campus provide academic success support and resources.
 
'''Available resources on sexual assault:''' UB is committed to providing an environment free of all forms of discrimination and sexual harassment, including sexual assault, domestic and dating violence and stalking. If you have experienced gender-based violence (intimate partner violence, attempted or completed sexual assault, harassment, coercion, stalking, etc.), UB has resources to help. This includes academic accommodations, health and counseling services, housing accommodations, helping with legal protective orders, and assistance with reporting the incident to police or other UB officials if you so choose. Please contact UB’s Title IX Coordinator at 716-645-2266 for more information. For confidential assistance, you may also contact a Crisis Services Campus Advocate at 716-796-4399.
 
'''Counselling services:''' As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning or reduce your ability to participate in daily activities. These might include strained relationships, anxiety, high levels of stress, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, health concerns, or unwanted sexual experiences. Counseling, Health Services, and Health Promotion are here to help with these or other concerns. You learn can more about these programs and services by contacting:
:Counseling Services: 120 Richmond Quad (North Campus), phone 716-645-2720
:Health Services: Michael Hall (South Campus), phone: 716-829-3316
:Health Promotion: 114 Student Union (North Campus), phone: 716- 645-2837

Revision as of 19:52, 17 March 2025

Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence - Fall 2025

PHI598 Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence   Hybrid  3 credit hours Barry Smith


Graduate seminar, Fall Semester 2025, 3 credit hours, Hybrid, Synchronous, Monday 1-3:40pm

Graduate [1]

Venue: Park 141, UB North Campus

Instructor:

Barry Smith

Prerequisites: Open to all persons with an undergraduate degree and some knowledge of philosophy

Office hours: By appointment via email at phismith@buffalo.edu

The Course

Course Description: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the subfield of Computer Science devoted to developing programs that enable computers to display behavior that can be characterized as intelligent. The ultimate goal of many AI researchers is to create what is called General Artificial Intelligence (AGI), by which is meant an artificial system that is as intelligent as a human being. Recent successes of ChatGPT and other Large Language Models (LLMs) have opened a new era of popularization of AI. For the first time, AI tools have been created which are immediately available to the wider population, who for the first time can have real hands-on experience of what AI can do. These developments open up a series of recognizably philosophical questions such as:Could we ever reach the point where we can accept the thesis that an AI system could have something like consciousness or sentience?Could we reach the point where an AI system could be said to behave ethically, or to have responsibility for its actions?Can a computer have desires, a will, and emotions?Can a computer have responsibility for its behavior?Could a machine have something like a personal identity? Would I really survive if the contents of my brain were uploaded to the cloud?


Course Structure: This is a three credit hour graduate seminar.

The final session will be structured around powerpoint presentations by the students in the class. These presentations will be recorded.

Target Audience: The course is open to all interested students with an undergraduate degree and some knowledge of philosophy.

Recommended text: Jobst Landgrebe and Barry Smith, Why Machines Will Never Rule the World, Routledge 2022, Second Edition in press. Book list

Schedule

August 25 Introduction to the Course

September 1: Labor Day Observed

September 11: Husserl, Scheler, Reinach, Ingarden, Wojtyła and Gehlen on the Ontology of Cultural Entities

Slides
Video
Husserl: Nature and Spirit
Husserl on Common Sense
Reinach and Edith Stein on the State
A. A. Чикин (2018) Alexander Pfänder and the New Science of Will
Reinach and Religious Phenomenology
Ingarden and the Ontology of Cultural Objects
Ingarden on the Ontology of Social Reality
Gehlen, Man
Gehlen on Institutions
Gehlen on Culture and Institutions

Gehlen: Man is by nature a cultural being

One can bring together a number of anthropological perspectives into the formula that "man is by nature a cultural being". . . . At any rate, we only know of men in possession of cultural attainments, which, no matter how primitive we may find them, are still so fundamental that human existence would be unthinkable without them. The distinction between natural man and cultured man is therefore imprecise, and taken literally, quite false — only cultured humanity exists or has existed, though with

an astounding range of cultural inventory.

Cassirer, An Essay on Man:

Man cannot escape his own achievement. He cannot but adopt the conditions of his own life. No longer in a merely physical universe, man lives in a symbolic universe. Language, myth, art, and religion are parts of this universe. They are the varied threads which weave the symbolic net, the tangled web of human experience. (…) Physical reality seems to recede in proportion as man’s symbolic activity advances. Instead of dealing with the things themselves man is in a sense constantly conversing with himself. (p. 43, cited in this review)

Background videos

Space
Document Acts

The natural attitude of common sense

Primary vs secondary theory
Robin Horton

Readings:

The Social World: An Inquiry into the Foundations of Human Institutions
The natural, cultural, cognitive and social niches of human activity
A political ontology of territorial boundaries
Environments Inside and Outside the Organism
The Justice and Ontology of Gastrospaces

September 18: No class

September 25: Adolf Reinach and Hernando de Soto on the Ontology of the Social World

Part 1: Reinach and the Ontology of Social Acts
Part 2: de Soto and the Ontology of Extralegal Institutions
Slides
Video

Book presentations

Delaney McNulty on: Angela Roothaan, Indigenous, modern and postcolonial relations to nature

Giacomo De Colle on Edith Stein, Investigation on the State

Reading: Scott Shapiro, Massively Shared Agency"

October 2: From Information Artifacts to Shared Agency

Reading: Scott Shapiro, Massively Shared Agency"

Slides
Video

Culture, AI and the Digital Realm: Are We Living in a Simulation?

Book presentations

Matthew Jones on Nancy Cartwright, How the Laws of Physics Lie

Ji Soo Seo on Cartwright's How the Laws of Physics Lie and Searle's Making the Social World

Joshua Billig on Frans de Waal's Chimpanzee Politics

Fermi Paradox
Fermi Paradox and consumerism
Simulation Hypothesis (Bostrom)
Intellectually simulating
The philosophy of the metaverse
Taking Simulation Seriously
Review of Reality+
Scott Adams on "The World is a Simulation"
Our world might be a simulation. Would that be so bad?

Modes of existence: fictions and virtual reality

Philosophy and the Metaverse
Mimesis as Make-Believe
Pleasure and its modifications

Oct 9: Fall Break

October 16: Searle on Money

We will once again summarize Searle's theory of social entities and show that it has a fatal flaw -- which is revealed most easily by the way it treats the phenomenon of money

Along the way we will discuss the ontology of blind chess, and the approach to oughtness that is dictated by the Basic Formal Ontology.

Slides
Video

Reading

John Searle: From Speech Acts to Social Reality

October 23: Aristotle, Common Sense, and the Ontology of Environments

Slides
Video

Background reading on common sense

The natural attitude of Common sense
Primary vs secondary theory
Robin Horton
Life and Motion of Socio-Economic Units

October 28-29: Gehlen; The Replication Problem; Physics (with Jobst Landgrebe) (weekend block course)

Saturday

09:00 Gehlen, Man: His Nature and Place in the World
Slides
Video
12:00 Lunch
13:30 The Crisis of Replication in Science
Slides
Video
17:00 Close

Sunday

09:00 How we study matter today?: Problems of quantum physics
Reading: Ontologies of common sense, physics and mathematics
[Slides]
12:00 Lunch
13:30 BFO and the ontology of physics
14:45 Break
15:00 A Theory of Historico-Mathematical Entities
Slides
Video
17:00 Close

Suggested Reading

Online

Feynman's Lectures on Physics, volumes 1-3
t'Hooft: Ontology in quantum mechanics
Roger Penrose on the emperors new mind

Monographs

Nancy Carwright: How the laws of physics lie
Brigitte Falkenburg: Particle Metaphysics
Review by Steven French
J.S. Bell: Speakable and unspeakable in quantum mechanics (Extract)
R. Griffiths: Consistent Quantum Mechanics

October 30: The Ontology of Science, the Canonical Life, Truthmaking

Slides

Book presentation: Olivia Hobai on Man’s Place in Nature by Max Scheler

The Ontology of Science Video

The Canonical Life Video

November 6 Nature, Culture and Mathematics: How to Do Things with Devices (with Elliott Hauser)

Visiting speaker: Elliott Hauser, University of Texas at Austin

Slides
Video

Target reading

Facts in the Machine
How to Do Things with Documents

Devices

Chronogeoscope
The search for biosignatures is hard. Should we look for technosignatures instead?

Supplementary readings

William Kent, Data and Reality
Documentality Beyond Documents
Semantics of Clocks
Smearing Time

November 13 Student Projects

1:00pm Delaney McNulty: Gehlen, Henrich and Distributed Cognition

1:40pm Jisoo Seo: Race as Social/Natural Kinds in BFO

2:00pm Matthew Jones: Zombie Documents And The Curse Of Inappropriately Enduring Punishment

2:20pm Giacommo de Colle: Edith Stein on the Essence of the State

Student Learning Outcomes

Program Outcomes/Competencies Instructional Method(s) Assessment Method(s)
The student will acquire a knowledge of the philosophy of both the natural and social sciences. Lectures and class discussions Review of reading matter and associated online content and participation in class discussions
The student will acquire experience in using the methods of philosophical argument, in formulating complex propositions on the interrelations between between matter and mind and between nature and culture Participation in practical experiments Review of results
The student will acquire experience in formulating ideas using powerful persuasive prose. Creation of documentation and youtube presentations Review of results

How to Write an Essay

Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style, Penguin Books, 2014
Strunk and White, The Elements of Style
Harvard's guide to writing philosophy
Jim Pryor's guide to writing philosophy
Jordan Peterson's Essay Writing Guide
How to Use ChatGPT to write an essay

Important Dates

Sep 11 - submit book review choice, and start to discuss the content of your essay with Dr Smith
Sep 25 - submit proposed title and abstract of your essay
Oct 2 - last day to present book summary
Oct 23 - submit a table of contents of your essay and 300 word summary plus draft of associated ppt slides
Oct 30 - submit first draft of essay (~1000 words) and associated powerpoint (~10 slides)
Nov 13 - submit second draft of essay (~2000 words) and associated powerpoint (~10 slides)
Nov 13 - class presentation
Dec 10 - submit final version of essay and powerpoint slides and upload final version of video to youtube

Grading

Grading will be based on two factors:

I: understanding and criticism of the material presented in classes 1-12

All students are required to take an active part in class (and where relevant on-line) discussions throughout the semester.

II: preparation of an essay, and associated powerpoint slides and recorded presentation.

Content and structure of the essay should be discussed with Dr Smith.

Grading Policy: Grading follows standard Graduate School policies. Grades will be weighted according to the following breakdown:

Weighting Assignment

20% - class discussions
15% - youtube video presentation
15% - powerpoint slides
50% - essay

Final Grades

Percentages refer to sum of assignment grades as listed above

Grade Quality Percentage

A 4.0 90.0% -100.00%
A- 3.67 87.0% - 89.9%
B+ 3.33 84.0% - 86.9%
B 3.00 80.0% - 83.9%
B- 2.67 77.0% - 79.9%
C+ 2.33 74.0% - 76.9%
C 2.00 71.0% - 73.9%
C- 1.67 68.0% - 70.9%
D+ 1.33 65.0% - 67.9%
D 1.00 62.0% - 64.9%
F 0 61.9% or below

An interim grade of Incomplete (I) may be assigned if the student has not completed all requirements for the course. An interim grade of 'I' shall not be assigned to a student who did not attend the course. The default grade accompanying an interim grade of 'I' shall be 'U' and will be displayed on the UB record as 'IU.' The default Unsatisfactory (U) grade shall become the permanent course grade of record if the 'IU' is not changed through formal notice by the instructor upon the student's completion of the course.

Assignment of an interim 'IU' is at the discretion of the instructor. A grade of 'IU' can be assigned only if successful completion of unfulfilled course requirements can result in a final grade better than the default 'U' grade. The student should have a passing average in the requirements already completed. The instructor shall provide the student specification, in writing, of the requirements to be fulfilled.

The university’s Graduate Incomplete Policy can be found here.

Related Policies and Services

Academic integrity is a fundamental university value. Through the honest completion of academic work, students sustain the integrity of the university while facilitating the university's imperative for the transmission of knowledge and culture based upon the generation of new and innovative ideas. See http://grad.buffalo.edu/Academics/Policies-Procedures/Academic-Integrity.html.

Accessibility resources: If you have any disability which requires reasonable accommodations to enable you to participate in this course, please contact the Office of Accessibility Resources in 60 Capen Hall, 645-2608 and also the instructor of this course during the first week of class. The office will provide you with information and review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodations, which can be found on the web here.

University suppert services: Students are often unaware of university support services. For example, the Center for Excellence in Writing provides support for written work, and several tutoring centers on campus provide academic success support and resources.

Available resources on sexual assault: UB is committed to providing an environment free of all forms of discrimination and sexual harassment, including sexual assault, domestic and dating violence and stalking. If you have experienced gender-based violence (intimate partner violence, attempted or completed sexual assault, harassment, coercion, stalking, etc.), UB has resources to help. This includes academic accommodations, health and counseling services, housing accommodations, helping with legal protective orders, and assistance with reporting the incident to police or other UB officials if you so choose. Please contact UB’s Title IX Coordinator at 716-645-2266 for more information. For confidential assistance, you may also contact a Crisis Services Campus Advocate at 716-796-4399.

Counselling services: As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning or reduce your ability to participate in daily activities. These might include strained relationships, anxiety, high levels of stress, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, health concerns, or unwanted sexual experiences. Counseling, Health Services, and Health Promotion are here to help with these or other concerns. You learn can more about these programs and services by contacting:

Counseling Services: 120 Richmond Quad (North Campus), phone 716-645-2720
Health Services: Michael Hall (South Campus), phone: 716-829-3316
Health Promotion: 114 Student Union (North Campus), phone: 716- 645-2837
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