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From: dredick@bbn.com (Barry Kort)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Hayes vs. Searle
Summary: How can it be that the brain has no symbols?
Keywords: Symbols
Message-ID: <58376@bbn.BBN.COM>
Date: 23 Jul 90 22:16:37 GMT
References: <129.26a5feab@csc.fi> <14385@venera.isi.edu>
Sender: news@bbn.com
Reply-To: bkort@BBN.COM (Barry Kort)
Organization: BBN Labs (Cambridge, MA)
Lines: 18

In article <14385@venera.isi.edu> smoliar@vaxa.isi.edu (Stephen Smoliar) writes:

 > This argument assumes that the human brain HAS symbols (or, at least,
 > that is implied through the use of the possessive "its").  There is
 > no evidence that this is the case.  I think it would be fair to say
 > that the point is still up for debate, just like the premise that the
 > human brain "has" mental images.

I don't understand this, Steve.  Spoken and written language symbolize
the elements of our world.  And these word-symbols are stored and processed
in the brain.  (At least that's where *I* store them!)  So while the
point may be worthy of debate, how can you argue that there is no evidence?



Barry Kort                       bkort@bbn.com
Visiting Scientist
BBN Labs