Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ariel.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!harpo!ihnp4!houxm!hogpc!houti!ariel!norm From: norm@ariel.UUCP Newsgroups: net.ai Subject: Re: Essence Message-ID: <631@ariel.UUCP> Date: Wed, 16-May-84 18:59:12 EDT Article-I.D.: ariel.631 Posted: Wed May 16 18:59:12 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 17-May-84 04:27:11 EDT References: <1084@ihuxr.UUCP> Organization: AT&T-ISL, Holmdel, NJ Lines: 31 Alan Wexelblat posted an article in which he solicited the opinions of others. He wondered if people needed to radically change their ideas of how perception is carried out before computers can be built that perceive as people do. He implied that computers built to identify objects by feature-sets would find it difficult to identify objects as the same across time if all of the features of the object changed. I responded with my opinion that PERCEPTION was insufficient to identify an object as the same across time under those circumstances. I claimed that such identification was possible only on the CONCEPTUAL level. I opined that "the same" can be taken to be either "metaphysically the same" or "essentially the same", and attempted to explain why I thought this distinction was relevant to the problem of computers identifying objects as the same across time by perceptual means. Ihuxr!lew, whose postings to the net I usually enjoy and whose breadth of curiosity and expertise I have often admired, followed my response with an apparent attempt to ridicule: "Essence is neither metaphysical nor epistim- ological , but olfactory, as in "essence of the pasture"." Somehow I no longer wish to congratulate him for his many contributions to the net. I hope the seeming attempt to ridicule doesn't inhibit others from posting their opinions regarding Alan Wexelblat's problem. I, like Doug Gwyn, believe that philosophy is important to mathematicians, physicists, ai-researchers, and to everyone. I believe quite strongly that most scientists would find a thorough understanding of Rand's Objectivist Epistemology (and her metaphysics) very valuable. I hope that Wexelblat and his philosopher-friend aren't the only people on the net that think philosophy might be relevant to AI. Norm Andrews, AT+T Information Systems, 201-834-3685 vax135!ariel!norm