About the Philosophers
If you read prefaces, it is even possible that you read author biographies as well. Mine notes that I came out of college with a degree in philosophy. The path from philosophy to Java programming is of course not a very common one; I nevertheless honestly believe that philosophy provides a very solid grounding for programming logic and object-oriented systems development.
During the first JavaOne conference, I attended an address given by Dr. John Gage of Sun. In that speech, he quoted a modern philosopher of language and metaphysics, Dr. Donald Davidson. If you do not have a background in philosophy, chances are that you do not recognize his name. I was so amazed at hearing his name mentioned, I went up and spoke to Dr. Gage after the address. We got into a discussion of philosophy and computing during which he suggested I work philosophy quotes into this book. I have taken his advice and started each chapter with a quote from a major philosopher.
I have tried to choose quotes that have direct relevance to the topic at hand. In some cases, however, the quotes are only indirectly relevant. The philosophers, in order of appearance in the book, are:
- Immanuel Kant (Preface)
Immanuel Kant may be the most influential philosopher of the second millennium. He was a German philosopher who lived from 1724 until 1804. He emphasized a rational approach to all philosophical pursuits. This rationalism has had its greatest impact in the area of ethics, where moral principles ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access