William J. Rapaport
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

William Joseph Rapaport is an American philosopher who is an associate professor
emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...
of the
University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...
.


Philosophical work

Rapaport has done research and written extensively on intentionality and
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
. He has research interests in
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
, artificial intelligence (AI),
computational linguistics Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field concerned with the computational modelling of natural language, as well as the study of appropriate computational approaches to linguistic questions. In general, computational linguistics ...
,
cognitive science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...
,
logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
and
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
, and published many scientific articles on them. While a philosophy graduate student at
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...
in 1972, he concocted the sentence: " Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo". Throughout his career he developed this theme, and discussed it extensively. His early work on nonexistent objects was influenced by Alexius Meinong. Rapaport has written on the field of intentionality, influencing scientists and writers including
Daniel Dennett Daniel Clement Dennett III (March 28, 1942 – April 19, 2024) was an American philosopher and cognitive scientist. His research centered on the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of biology, particularly as those ...
, Héctor-Neri Castañeda (who was his doctoral advisor) and
John Searle John Rogers Searle (; born July 31, 1932) is an American philosopher widely noted for contributions to the philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and social philosophy. He began teaching at UC Berkeley in 1959 and was Willis S. and Mario ...
(with whom he disagrees). Rapaport is interested in science educational theory, and received the New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.


Other activities

In June 1988, Rapaport compiled a list of restaurants in the Buffalo area for attendees of an ACL meeting at SUNY Buffalo. The list was continued, becoming interactive, with user reviews of restaurants. Rapaport and his wife Mary, with whom he has a son Michael, are the principal donors to the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, NY. The Desilu Playhouse, located in the Rapaport Center, contains memorabilia and other vintage
I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...
items. He and his wife have also purchased and renovated
Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...
's childhood home in Celoron, New York.


Books and articles

* ''Intentionality and the Structure of Existence'', unpublished Ph.D. Indiana University, 1976. * "Meinongian Theories and a Russellian Paradox", ''Noûs'', 12(2) (1978), pp. 153–80. *
Thought, Language, and Ontology: Essays in Memory of Hector-Neri Castañeda
'. Edited by William J. Rapaport et al. Includes various essays by Rapaport and his colleagues.
Cognition and Fiction, with Stuart C. Shapiro
(PostScript format)Originally from
Buffalo University
Can be viewed online via th
Online PostScript Viewer
.
*
To Be and Not To Be
*
Representing Fiction in SNePS

In Defense of Contextual Vocabulary Acquisition
*
What Did You Mean by That? Misunderstanding, Negotiation, and Syntactic Semantics
*
Yes, She Was!
, reply to Ford's "Helen Keller Was Never in a Chinese Room" *
Predication, fiction, and artificial intelligence
*
On cogito propositions
*
Because mere calculation isn't thinking
*
Philosophy of Computer Science
', online textbook on connections between philosophy, computer science and artificial intelligence, constantly being updated


References


External links


Dr Rapaport's CSE Department Profile
- including image.

- Picture of wife.
Bill Rapaport's Buffalo Restaurant Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapaport, William J. University at Buffalo faculty Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Abstract object theory Ontologists American philosophers of language American artificial intelligence researchers American epistemologists American philosophers of technology 21st-century American philosophers 20th-century American philosophers