Computability and Computational Explanation

This Element is a primer on computability theory and its key applications in empirical science.

This Element introduces computability theory and its use in explaining empirical phenomena. Aimed at advanced undergraduates and graduates in philosophy, it presents key tools and results, surveys applications in computer and cognitive science, and outlines major philosophical debates around these explanatory projects.This Element is an introduction to classical computability theory and scientific efforts to use computability-theoretic notions to explain empirical phenomena. It is written for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in philosophy, assuming no prior exposure to computability theory. Its goals are threefold: (1) to introduce some important theoretical tools and results from classical computability theory; (2) to survey some of the ways these have been used to support explanatory projects in computer and cognitive science; and (3) to outline a few of the more prominent philosophical debates surrounding these projects.