Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!ig!arizona!mike From: mike@arizona.edu (Mike Coffin) Newsgroups: comp.ai Subject: Re: THE MIND EXTENDS BEYOND THE SKIN Message-ID: <9724@megaron.arizona.edu> Date: 15 Mar 89 20:20:11 GMT References: Organization: U of Arizona CS Dept, Tucson Lines: 24 From article , by harnad@elbereth.rutgers.edu (Stevan Harnad): > I will repeat, patiently, for the Nth time, that "call them neurons > or symbol processors or whatever" simply is not good enough, because > it is just the critical difference between the two that's at issue > here! [...] Both Searle and I believe that it can be done by a > physical SYSTEM (e.g., the brain). The point is that we have been > giving reasons (Searle, one reason, I several) why a > symbol-crunching system is the WRONG KIND OF SYSTEM to generate > understanding. [...] I will repeat, patiently, that Searle has given NO reason why a symbol crunching system is the wrong kind. He has attempted a form of proof called reductio ad absurdum. The problem is that he never reaches an absurdity. He starts with the premise that a symbol-crunching system can appear to understand. He derives the "absurdity" that one piece of the symbol cruncher doesn't understand. But that is only absurd IF you've already decided that understanding is not an emergent property --- i.e., IF you have accepted the conclusion Searle is trying to prove. -- Mike Coffin mike@arizona.edu Univ. of Ariz. Dept. of Comp. Sci. {allegra,cmcl2}!arizona!mike Tucson, AZ 85721 (602)621-2858