David Bourget (Western Ontario)
David Chalmers (ANU, NYU)
Rafael De Clercq
Jack Alan Reynolds
Learn more about PhilPapers
Grazer Philosophische Studien 86 (1):55-72 (2012)
Software is a ubiquitous artifact, yet not much has been done to understand its ontological nature. There are a few accounts offered so far about the nature of software. I argue that none of those accounts give a plausible picture of the nature of software. I draw attention to the striking similarities between software and musical works. These similarities motivate to look more closely on the discussions regarding the nature of the musical works. With the lessons drawn from the ontology of musical works I offer a novel account of the nature of software. In this account, software is an abstract artifact. I elaborate the conditions under which software comes into existence; how it persists; how and on which entities its existence depends.
|Keywords||software computer programs musical works ontology artifacts abstract objects|
|Categories||categorize this paper)|
Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server
Configure custom proxy (use this if your affiliation does not provide a proxy)
|Through your library|
References found in this work BETA
No references found.
Citations of this work BETA
Giuseppe Primiero, Nir Fresco & Luciano Floridi (2015). On Malfunctioning Software. Synthese 192 (4):1199-1220.
Raymond Turner (2014). Programming Languages as Technical Artifacts. Philosophy and Technology 27 (3):377-397.
Nurbay Irmak (2013). The Privilege of the Physical and the Status of Ontological Debates. Philosophical Studies 166 (1 Supplement):1-18.
Daniel Z. Korman (2014). The Vagueness Argument Against Abstract Artifacts. Philosophical Studies 167 (1):57-71.
Similar books and articles
Timothy R. Colburn (1999). Software, Abstraction, and Ontology. The Monist 82 (1):3-19.
Peter Suber (1988). What is Software? Journal of Speculative Philosophy 2 (2):89-119.
Odin Kroeger (2011). Why Are Software Patents so Elusive? A Platonic Approach. Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology 5 (1):57-70.
Ronald R. Sims, Hsing K. Cheng & Hildy Teegen (1996). Toward a Profile of Student Software Piraters. Journal of Business Ethics 15 (8):839 - 849.
David M. Douglas (2011). The Social Disutility of Software Ownership. Science and Engineering Ethics 17 (3):485-502.
Rohit Parikh (2002). Social Software. Synthese 132 (3):187 - 211.
Matthew K. McGowan, Paul Stephens & Dexter Gruber (2007). An Exploration of the Ideologies of Software Intellectual Property: The Impact on Ethical Decision Making. [REVIEW] Journal of Business Ethics 73 (4):409 - 424.
Stefan Gruner (2011). Problems for a Philosophy of Software Engineering. Minds and Machines 21 (2):275-299.
Don Gotterbarn (1999). Not All Codes Are Created Equal: The Software Engineering Code of Ethics, a Success Story. [REVIEW] Journal of Business Ethics 22 (1):81 - 89.
S. Chopra & S. Dexter (2011). Free Software and the Economics of Information Justice. Ethics and Information Technology 13 (3):173-184.
David M. Douglas (2011). A Bundle of Software Rights and Duties. Ethics and Information Technology 13 (3):185-197.
Jan van Eijck (2010). The Language of Social Software. Synthese 177 (1):77-96.
Ian Phau & James Ng (2010). Predictors of Usage Intentions of Pirated Software. Journal of Business Ethics 94 (1):23 - 37.
Janice A. Singer & Norman G. Vinson (forthcoming). Ethical Issues in Empirical Studies of Software Engineering. Philosophical Explorations.
Added to index2012-01-07
Total downloads375 ( #2,608 of 1,778,284 )
Recent downloads (6 months)80 ( #11,975 of 1,778,284 )
How can I increase my downloads?