Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!dgp.toronto.edu!mccool
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
From: mccool@dgp.toronto.edu (Michael McCool)
Subject: Re: Flocking behaviour, collective systems, reasoning
Message-ID: <1990Nov7.140905.1855@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>
References: <1990Nov2.124853.22806@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu> <1990Nov5.210103.8022@grian.cps.altadena.ca.us>
Date: 7 Nov 90 19:09:05 GMT
Lines: 24

steve@grian.cps.altadena.ca.us (Steve Mitchell) writes:

>mccool@dgp.toronto.edu (Michael McCool) writes:

>>kpc00@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com (kpc) writes:

>>> 2  birds have these desires or analogues or homologues of these
>>>    desires

>>I have used the word _want_ for lack of a better term; substitute tropism.

>... for several years I lived with an English (house) sparrow.  In my
>extensive observations of her I was forced to the conclusion that she
>did indeed "want" various things. 

I didn't mean to imply that a mental model didn't exist, just that it wasn't
necessary to the behaviour.  Anchovies can show "flocking" behaviour, yet
are not exactly mental giants.  I guess behaviouralism was based on
"if a behaviour can be explained without a mental model, then mental 
models don't exist".  This is not what I meant to say.  Seeing as how
I'm getting *way* out of my field, I'll shut up now.

Michael McCool@dgp.toronto.edu  --- I saw the pale student of unhallowed
arts kneel down beside the thing he had put together... --- Mary Shelly