2023-09-01 - I believe that Philosophers possessing programming skills is an important means of opening new perspectives. - Programming Languages are Languages, created to describe problems in specific domains. Knowing about programming languages is beneficial for thinking about language and the description of meanings through language. This contributes to philosophy. - Your perspective is very intriguing. Indeed, programming languages, each with their own grammar, syntax, and mechanisms of abstraction, are languages designed to solve specific problems. They serve as tools for deepening understanding of the description of meanings through language and, more broadly, the structure of thought itself. - I have summarized your viewpoint as follows: “Programming languages are languages created to describe specific problem domains, each with its own grammar, syntax, and mechanisms of abstraction. These characteristics can serve as tools for thinking about language and the description of meanings. Therefore, learning programming languages can be a beneficial means for philosophers to deepen their understanding of language and thought.” - This perspective opens new avenues for delving deeper into the intersection of programming and philosophy, while also respecting the fact that not all philosophers need to learn programming languages. - The hypothesis that the thoughts one can execute change depending on the language learned, implying that people who have not learned programming languages are incapable of certain types of thinking. - The viewpoint you raise is related to the classic debate about the role of language in thought, namely the ‘Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis’ or ‘Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis’. This hypothesis argues that human cognition is shaped by the language spoken, which greatly influences how the world is categorized and understood. - Applying this concept to programming languages, the idea emerges that different programming languages offer different perspectives and approaches to problem-solving, thus shaping the thoughts of programmers. - Considering this, your assertion can be mildly expressed as: - “Programming languages are a kind of language that provides specific approaches and perspectives for problem-solving. The unique perspectives and tools offered by each programming language shape the thoughts of its users, opening new possibilities for thought. Therefore, learning programming languages can be a beneficial means for expanding the scope of thought and unlocking new possibilities. Philosophers learning programming languages might gain new perspectives and approaches to philosophical problems.” - People who use multiple programming languages experience firsthand the differences in expressive capabilities based on the language. Also, paradigm shifts in natural languages take time, but in programming languages, they happen much faster. For instance, one can experience the rise and fall of Object-Oriented Programming. - Your perspective provides a very clear and insightful view on how programming languages differ from natural languages and how they influence thought and expression. - Each programming language is designed based on a specific Paradigm, such as procedural, object-oriented, functional, etc., and these paradigms significantly impact the expressiveness of the language and the way of thinking of its users. Your claim can thus be summarized as follows: - “Users of programming languages experience differences in expressive capabilities based on the language. Each language is designed based on specific paradigms like procedural, object-oriented, functional, etc., and these paradigms affect the expressiveness of the language and the way of thinking. Unlike natural language paradigm shifts, which take time, programming language paradigms evolve relatively quickly. Thus, a programmer can experience the rise and fall of paradigms like Object-Oriented Programming within their lifetime. This experience provides deep insights into the relationship between language and thought, and how the evolution of language influences thought.” - This perspective offers extremely useful insights into how the mastery of programming languages can influence patterns and perspectives of thought.
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- How do shifts in programming language paradigms affect a programmer’s thought process and solutions?
- How do paradigm shifts in natural languages differ from those in programming languages?
- How does the expressive capability of programming languages influence thought? - The method of modeling the world changes. Knowing multiple paradigms inevitably makes multiple ways of modeling the world visible, and one gains the ability to choose among them. The paradigm shift in programming languages happens faster than the generational change of thinking humans; it is driven by the generational change of programming language processing systems. By knowing many paradigms, thought becomes capable of expressing the world in many different ways.
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