Topics Science

Question Is computer science a "science" in the same way as the natural sciences? Sometimes I think it more closely resembles math, in that the kind of reasoning it is engaged in is in some sense a priori.

Accepted:
September 26, 2012

Comments

Parts of computer science are like other sciences, parts are certainly like mathematics, and parts are also like engineering. Some people have argued that it is a natural science, others that it is an "artificial" science, still others that it is not a science but a branch of engineering, and so on.

The answer to your question of whether computer science is a science depends, of course, on what is meant by "science" as well as what is meant by "computer science". What some people call "computer science" others call "computing science", "computer engineering", "informatics", etc., each seeming to emphasize a different aspect of the discipline.

And the question of what constitutes science (as opposed to, say, arts or humanities, on the one hand; "pseudoscience", on the other hand; and mathematics, on another hand) is a major topic in the philosophy of science.

For some readings, by computer scientists as well as philosophers, on this question, take a look at some webpages I created on it for my course on the philosophy of computer science (boldfaced readings on these webpages are the ones of central importance, I think):

What Is Computer Science?

What Is Science?

What Is Engineering?

Question Is computer science a "science" in the same way as the natural sciences? Sometimes I think it more closely resembles math, in that the kind of reasoning it is engaged in is in some sense a priori. Accepted:September 26, 2012

Question Is computer science a "science" in the same way as the natural sciences? Sometimes I think it more closely resembles math, in that the kind of reasoning it is engaged in is in some sense a priori.

Accepted:
September 26, 2012