Brian Cantwell Smith
140 St George St., Toronto, M5S 3G6
Campus: St. George
Smith holds BS, MS and PhD degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). From 1981–96 he was a Principal Scientist at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University. He was a founder of the Center for the Study of Language and Information at Stanford University (CSLI), a founder and first President of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR), and President (1998–99) of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology (SPP). From 1996–2001 he was Professor of Cognitive Science, Computer Science, and Philosophy at Indiana University, and from 2001–03 was Kimberly J. Jenkins University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and New Technologies at Duke University, with appointments in the departments of Philosophy and Computer Science. He moved to the University of Toronto in 2003, initially serving for 5 years as Dean of the Faculty of Information. He has a primary appointment in the Faculty of Information, with cross appointments in philosophy, in cognitive science, and in the history and philosophy of science and technology.
Smith’s research focuses on the philosophical foundations of computation, artificial intelligence, and mind, and on fundamental issues in metaphysics and epistemology. In the 1980s he developed the world’s first reflective programming language (3Lisp). He is the author of *On the Origin of Objects* (MIT Press, 1996), and of *On the Promise of Artificial Intelligence: Reckoning and Judgment* (MIT Press, 2019).
- BS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- MS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Cognitive Science
- Philosophy of Mind
Books
- Brian Cantwell Smith. On the Origin of Objects. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1996.
- Brian Cantwell Smith. The Promise of Artificial Intelligence: Reckoning and Judgment. MIT Press, 2019.
Selected Articles
- —. “Reflection and Semantics in Lisp.” POPL (1984): 23–35.
- —. “Limits of Correctness in Computers.” SIGCAS 14.4 (1985): 18-26. Reprinted in T. R. Colburn et al., eds. Program Verification. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1993: 275–293. Also in Rob Kling, ed. Computerization and Controversy: Value Conflicts and Social Choices. Morgan-Kaufman (Academic Press, Harcourt-Brace), Second edition, 1996, pp. 810–825.
- —. “The Third Day.” In Adam Lowe et al. Registration Marks. London: Pomeroy-Purdy Gallery, 1992: 23–33.
- —. “Varieties of Self-Reference.” In Joseph Halpern, ed. Theoretical Aspects of Reasoning about Knowledge. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann, 1986: 19–43.
- —. “The Semantics of Clocks.” In James Fetzer, ed. Aspects of Artificial Intelligence. AA Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1988.
- —, “Putting Dretske to Work: Comments on Dretske’s ‘Putting Information to Work’,” in Philip Hanson, ed. Information, Language, and Cognition.
- Vancouver: Univ. of British Columbia Press: 125-140.
- —. “The Foundations of Computing.” In Matthias Scheutz, ed. Computationalism: New Directions. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2002: 23–58.
- —. “Reply to Daniel Dennett,” in Hugh Clapin (ed.), Philosophy of Mental Representation, Oxford Univ. Press, 2002, pp. 237–65 (discussion through 292).
- —. “From E&M TO M&E: A Journey through the Landscape of Computing.” In Luciano Floridi ed. Philosophy of Computing and Information: 5 Questions. Copenhagen, Denmark: Automatic Press/VIP, 2008.
- —. “So Boundary As Not To Be An Object At All.” In Geoffrey Bowker, Stefan Timmermans, Adele Clarke, and Ellen Balka Eds. Boundary Objects and Beyond: Working with Leigh Star. Cambridge: MIT Press, 201: 219–228.
Visit Brian Cantwell Smith’s publications on the Philosophy Faculty Bookshelf.