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From: silber@sbphy.ucsb.edu
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Grounds / the evolution of symbols
Message-ID: <1337@hub.ucsb.edu>
Date: 15 Mar 89 02:02:53 GMT
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Organization: UC, Santa Barbara. Physics Computer Services
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Re: symbol-grounding etc: perhaps evolutionary considerations can shed light
upon the "symbol grounding" problem.  Presumably, the gross evolutionary
steps w.r.t the nervous system are: 1) early development of sensory systems
(e.g. the eye-spot of the euglena) ... 2) development of "pre-cognitive"
modes of complex neural activity (e.g. instinctual behaviour), 
.. ... ... ... ... 3) cognitive modes GROUNDED in all the
previous modes.  My rather limited knowledge of "semiotics" etc.,
prevents me from speculating as to when 'symbols' evolved.
The relationship of a protozoan eye-spot to its motility is
clearly (?) not 'symbolic'. does what WE call an 'instinct'
function 'symbolically' in, for example, fish?