Chess and the Turing Machine: the limits of applicability of computationalism in the social sciences

Abstract

The article discusses the limits of applicability of the computational approach in the social sciences. A comparative analysis of the use of the Turing machine as a metaphor for computation and chess as a metaphor for social life is made. It is shown that within the framework of computationalism, the essence of the symbols, over which calculations are performed, remains unclear. The application of computationalism in the social sciences is possible only in combination with the methods of humanitarian research.