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From: fransvo@htsa.uucp (Frans van Otten)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Question on Chinese Room Argument
Message-ID: <764@htsa.uucp>
Date: 20 Feb 89 09:50:13 GMT
References: <4298@pt.cs.cmu.edu> <Feb.18.17.26.17.1989.23438@elbereth.rutgers.edu> <8174@netnews.upenn.edu> <Feb.19.14.23.34.1989.8773@elbereth.rutgers.edu>
Reply-To: fransvo@htsa.UUCP (Frans van Otten)
Organization: AHA-TMF (Technical Institute), Amsterdam Netherlands
Lines: 38

In article <Feb.19.14.23.34.1989.8773@elbereth.rutgers.edu>,
harnad@elbereth.rutgers.edu (Stevan Harnad) writes:
>
>The ONLY one who can know for sure that Searle has a mind is Searle himself.
>And the same is true of your mind: YOU know it (don't you? don't you?).

You say you're *sure* that you have a mind, you *know* it.  How can you
be *sure* if you only *know* it ?  I say you only had a compile-time flag:

program Stevan_Harnad(input, output);

const I_HAVE_A_MIND = true;    /*  The main point  */

var alive  : boolean;
    symbol : SymbolType;
    result : ResultType;

begin
  alive = TRUE;
  while alive
    do
      symbol = Read_Symbol;
      result = Crunch_Symbol(symbol);
      if result = dead
	then alive = false
	else Output_Result(result);
    end;
end.

I want you to show me how you can prove to yourself that you have a mind.
Until then I must assume that you are (only) a symbol cruncher, and so
must you.

-- 
	Frans van Otten
	Algemene Hogeschool Amsterdam
	Technische en Maritieme Faculteit
	fransvo@htsa.uucp