Position Paper #1:

What Is Computer Science?

The purpose of this position paper is to give you an opportunity to clarify your beliefs about what computer science is,
so that, as we continue to discuss the topic in class, and as you continue to read about it,
you'll know where you stand—what your beliefs are.

Later, when your beliefs have been "contaminated" by further readings and by our discussions,
you may wish to revise your beliefs.

But you can't revise a belief that you don't have (you can only acquire new beliefs).

So, here I am forcing you to discover, clarify, and defend the beliefs that you now have,
by turning them into words and putting them on paper.

Imagine that you are the newly-appointed Dean of the School of Science at the University of Aix
(pronounced like the letter "X"; there really is such a place (almost)!).

In an attempt to build up the rival School of Engineering,
the newly-appointed Dean of Engineering has proposed to the Provost (the boss of both deans)
that the Department of Computer Science be moved—lock, stock, and computer, so to speak—
to Engineering, on the following grounds:

(The Dean of Engineering has not yet argued that computer science is an engineering discipline; that may come later.)

How do you respond to the Dean of Engineering's argument?
You may agree with it, or not (but there are several ways that might happen; see below).

You should ignore political considerations:
You may suppose that the move from Science to Engineering involves no loss or gain of money, prestige, or anything else,
and it is to be done, if at all, only on strictly intellectual grounds.

The Provost is eagerly awaiting your reply, and will abide by your decision
…if, that is, you give a well-argued defense of your position.

To formulate and defend your position, you should:

1. Say whether you agree that conclusion (3) logically follows from premises (1) and (2),
   (whether or not you agree with (1) and (2))
   and why you think it follows or doesn't.
   ("I agree that conclusion (3) follows from premises (1) and (2) because …"
   OR "I do not agree that conclusion (3) follows from premises (1) and (2) because …")
   • If you think that conclusion (3) doesn't follow,
     is there some (interesting, non-trivial) missing premise
     (i.e., a "missing link" between the premises and conclusion)
     that would make it follow?
     • For a discussion of missing premises, see "Argument Analysis: Finding Missing Premises"

2. Say whether you agree with premise (1), and why you do or don't.
   ("I agree with premise (1) because …" OR "I disagree with premise (1) because …")

3. Say whether you agree with premise (2), and why you do or don't.
   ("I agree with premise (2) because …" OR "I disagree with premise (2) because …")

4. If you thought that there were missing premises that validated the argument,
   say whether you agree with them, and why you do or don't.

5. If you think that the argument is logically invalid,
   you might still agree or disagree with conclusion (3)
   independently of the reasons given for it by premises (1) and (2) (and any missing premises).
   • If so, state whether you agree with (3), and why.

• For example, you might believe that computer science is both a science and an engineering discipline
  (or, alternatively, that it is neither).
• If so, then please give your reasons for this.

And, if you are unsure about any of your answers,
try to be very precise about why you are unsure
and what further information would help you decide.

Other responses:

However, I believe that any other response can, perhaps with a bit of force, be seen to fall under one of the above responses.

But if you really feel that your position is not exactly characterized by any of the above responses,
then please say:

• what your position is,
• why you believe it,
• and why you think it is not one of the above.

For general assistance on analyzing arguments, see A Heuristic for Argument Analysis and the links at Argument Analysis

Ground Rules:

1. Your answer should honestly reflect your beliefs
   (not what you think the fictional Provost or Dean of Engineering wants to hear!).

2. If you resort to a dictionary, textbook, article, website, etc., be sure to say which one.

   Give as much detailed information as you can that would assist someone else to locate the item by themselves.

   (See the "How to Handle Citations" section of my "How to Write" for the proper way to do this.)

3. Your position paper should be approximately

   1 typed page and double-spaced (i.e., about 250 words)

   (not including any bibliographic citations).
   • To help keep your paper short, you do not need any fancy introductory paragraph;
     you can assume that your reader is a fellow student in this course who has just done the same assignment.
   • If you write:
     • 1 paragraph analyzing validity,
     • 1 paragraph each analyzing the premises,
     • and 1 paragraph analyzing the conclusion,

     you will have (more than) enough material.

4. Please bring

   5 copies

   to lecture on the due date.

5. At the top of the page, please put all and only the following information:
   1. the title "Position Paper #1"
   2. your name
   3. the course you are enrolled in (CSE 484, CSE 584, or PHI 584)
   4. the due date.

   (The space taken up by this will not count against your total pages.)

6. For general assistance with writing
   (including my preferred method of paper preparation and format, as well as advice on grammar),
   see my website "How to Write".