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From: lee@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Greg Lee)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: re: Searle's Chinese Room
Message-ID: <3470@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu>
Date: 14 Mar 89 02:56:13 GMT
References: <696@mks.UUCP>
Organization: University of Hawaii
Lines: 21

From article <696@mks.UUCP>, by tj@mks.UUCP (T. J. Thompson):

I like the distinction between the person Searle and the demon
that the experiment actually requires.  But here:

" ... , then the intuition that it
" cannot embody ``understanding'' is certainly well founded. No
" sceptical enquirer is likely to be fooled for long by a correspondent
" lacking a rich experiential background, a sense of humour, particular
" tastes in art and music, opinions on the weather, politics, Searle,
" and so on. ...

I think you're just refusing the premise of the experiment.  If
there was a "rich experiential background" involved it was that
of the programmers who composed the rules.  Now, when the curtain
is raised, that part of it is out of sight, except that it's
embodied in the rules.  Perhaps you think such embodiment is
not possible -- others have expressed doubts.  But that's the
premise.

		Greg, lee@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu