Wilson, Joseph (2024) The ghost in the machine: Metaphors of the ‘virtual’ and the ‘artificial’ in post-WW2 computer science. Perspectives on Science, 32 (3). pp. 372-393. ISSN 1063-6145

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Abstract

Metaphors that compare the computer to a human brain are common in computer science and can be traced back to a fertile period of research that unfolded after the Second World War. To conceptualize the emerging ‘intelligent’ properties of computing machines, researchers of the era created a series of virtual objects that served as interpretive devices for representing the immaterial functions of the computer. This paper analyses the use of the terms artificial and virtual in scientific papers, textbooks, and popular articles of the time, and examines how, together, they shaped models in computer science used to conceptualize computer processes.

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Item Type:	Published Article or Volume
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Wilson, Joseph
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Computer Science Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence General Issues > Explanation General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > History of Science Case Studies General Issues > Models and Idealization General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
Depositing User:	Unnamed user with email m.zichert@tu-berlin.de
Date Deposited:	17 Mar 2026 12:25
Last Modified:	17 Mar 2026 12:25
Item ID:	28647
Journal or Publication Title:	Perspectives on Science
Publisher:	MIT Press
Official URL:	https://direct.mit.edu/posc/article-abstract/doi/1...
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.1162/posc_a_00611
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Computer Science Specific Sciences > Artificial Intelligence General Issues > Explanation General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > History of Science Case Studies General Issues > Models and Idealization General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
Date:	2024
Page Range:	pp. 372-393
Volume:	32
Number:	3
ISSN:	1063-6145
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/28647

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• The ghost in the machine: Metaphors of the ‘virtual’ and the ‘artificial’ in post-WW2 computer science. (deposited 02 Feb 2024 09:17)
  • The ghost in the machine: Metaphors of the ‘virtual’ and the ‘artificial’ in post-WW2 computer science. (deposited 17 Mar 2026 12:25) [Currently Displayed]

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