A ground-breaking attempt at articulating a philosophy of computer science, this book is an introduction to the philosophical foundations of computer science and the contributions that philosophy and computer science can make to each other. Colburn first investigates what makes computer science an empirical science and not merely a branch of pure mathematics. He finds that despite its reliance on formal methods, computer science practices a unique type of abstraction that can help explain the puzzling ontological nature of complex virtual worlds now common in games and on the Internet. Colburn then identifies the roots of the modern field of artificial intelligence (AI) in the rich tradition of Western philosophy since ancient Greece. A vast array of philosophical issues associated with AI's current practices are introduced: ethics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, cognitive science, and even the very touchy issue of whether or not machines can be made to think.