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From: wallingf@cps.msu.edu (Eugene Wallingford)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Hayes vs. Searle
Message-ID: <1990Jun7.191603.14672@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu>
Date: 7 Jun 90 19:16:03 GMT
References: <16875@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> <2629@skye.ed.ac.uk> <13772@venera.isi.edu> <2703@skye.ed.ac.uk> <4550@castle.ed.ac.uk>
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Organization: Computer Science, Michigan State University, E. Lansing
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Paul D. Crowley writes:

> .........................  As far as I can see, the weasel phrase in the
> Chinese Room [argument] is not "understanding" but "causative power".
> Just what is the magical difference between neurons and logic gates
> allowing one but not the other to participate in
> "Searle-type-understanding"?

     Searle basically argues: Well, *I* understand some things, so
     neurons and the rest of our biology must have such causative powers
     [an existence proof of sorts].   But the Chinese Room does not
     understand *anything* and [given the method of his argument] never
     can.  So logic gates and the like must not have the same causative
     powers.

     In this sense, Searle is correct.  But his argument rests on the
     shaky assumption that I can grant understanding to another human
     because s/he is like me, but the machine is so unlike me that I
     will not grant that it understands.

     Pushed to the extreme, I think that Searle's argument forces him
     to admit that he is a solipsist (in a weak sense) -- humans under-
     stand, but nothing else does.  Searle mentions somewhere [in the
     _Scientific American_ article, I think] the possibility of, say,
     a Martian whose chemistry is radically different than ours.  He
     claims that he might be willing to grant that such a being does
     understand, but he provides no principled reasons for just how he
     would come to such a conclusion.  And, given his line of reasoning,
     I think that he would be unable to...


--
~~~~ Eugene Wallingford            ~~~~    AI/KBS Laboratory         ~~~~
~~~~ wallingf@cpsvax.cps.msu.edu   ~~~~    Michigan State University ~~~~