Software Development and Reality Construction

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-IX

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2. Prologue

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-2

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   2. Proscenium

      • Christiane Floyd, Heinz Züllighoven, Reinhard Budde, Reinhard Keil-Slawik

      Pages 3-10

3. Thinking About Computer Science

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-14

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   2. Human Questions in Computer Science

      • Christiane Floyd

      Pages 15-27

   3. Learning from our Errors

      • Donald E. Knuth

      Pages 28-30

4. Living Computer Science

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 31-34

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   2. The Technical and the Human Side of Computer Science

      • Klaus-Peter Löhr

      Pages 35-38

   3. Hermeneutics and Path

      • Joseph A. Goguen

      Pages 39-44

   4. Computing: Yet Another Reality Construction

      • Rodney M. Burstall

      Pages 45-51

   5. How Many Choices Do We Make? How Many Are Difficult?

      • Kristen Nygaard

      Pages 52-59

   6. From Scientific Practice to Epistemological Discovery

      • Douglas T. Ross

      Pages 60-70

5. On Reality Construction

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 71-74

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   2. Self-Organization and Software Development

      • Heinz von Foerster, Christiane Floyd

      Pages 75-85

   3. Software Development as Reality Construction

      • Christiane Floyd

      Pages 86-100

   4. The Idea that Reality is Socially Constructed

      • Bo Dahlbom

      Pages 101-126

6. Learning to Know

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 127-130

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   2. Scientific Expertise as a Social Process

      • Klaus Amann

      Pages 131-139

   3. How to Communicate Proofs or Programs

      • Dirk Siefkes

      Pages 140-154

   4. Making Errors, Making Sense, Making Use

      • John M. Carroll

      Pages 155-167

The present book is based on the conference Software Development and Reality Construction held at SchloB Eringerfeld in Germany, September 25 - 30, 1988. This was organized by the Technical University of Berlin (TUB) in cooperation with the German National Research Center for Computer Science (GMD), Sankt Augustin, and sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation whose financial support we gratefully acknowledge. The conference was an interdisciplinary scientific and cultural event aimed at promoting discussion on the nature of computer science as a scientific discipline and on the theoretical foundations and systemic practice required for human-oriented system design. In keeping with the conversational style of the conference, the book comprises a series of individual contributions, arranged so as to form a coherent whole. Some authors reflect on their practice in computer science and system design. Others start from approaches developed in the humanities and the social sciences for understanding human learning and creativity, individual and cooperative work, and the interrelation between technology and organizations. Thus, each contribution makes its specific point and can be read on its own merit. But, at the same time, it takes its place as a chapter in the book, along with all the other contributions, to give what seemed to us a meaningful overall line of argumentation. This required careful editorial coordination, and we are grateful to all the authors for bearing with us throughout the slow genesis of the book and for complying with our requests for extensive revision of some of the manuscripts.

• Cognition
• Epistemologie
• Epistemology
• Kognition
• Philosophy of Science
• Software Engineering
• Wissenschaftsphilosophie
• computer science
• design
• development
• learning
• software

• Institut für Angewandte Informatik, Sekr. 5-6, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin 10, Fed. Rep. of Germany

  Christiane Floyd, Reinhard Keil-Slawik

• Institut für Systemtechnik (F2), GMD, Sankt Augustin 1, Fed. Rep. of Germany

  Heinz Züllighoven, Reinhard Budde

Policies and ethics