In Christopher Hookway and Donald Peterson (editors), Philosophy and Cognitive Science (Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement 34), pages 111-136. Cambridge University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-521-45763-7.
Abstract
In this paper we consider two key concepts from software engineering - 'specification' and 'implementation' - and explore their possible applications outside software engineering to other disciplines, notably the philosophy of action, evolutionary biology, and cognitive science. Throughout, the emphasis is on the gain in conceptual clarity that can be afforded by these concepts; it is not so much a matter of new knowledge or new theories but of a reorganisation of existing knowledge and theories in a way that facilitates the transfer of insights across a range of related fields.
The paper begins with an examination of the concepts in their original home of computer science, and then seeks to broaden the perspective by considering, in a general way, how they might find application outside that field. We conclude with three case studies in which we discuss the applicability of the concepts to the description of group action, morphogenesis, and the human mind.