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From: dan-hankins@cup.portal.com (Daniel B Hankins)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Question on Chinese Room Argument
Message-ID: <17124@cup.portal.com>
Date: 14 Apr 89 00:35:18 GMT
References: <10992@bcsaic.UUCP> <16873@cup.portal.com> <49015@linus.UUCP>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 19

In article <49015@linus.UUCP> bwk@mbunix.mitre.org (Barry W. Kort) writes:

>>[me] A symbol that means nothing is no symbol at all.
>
>How about the mathematical symbols for zero and the null set?
>How about the ASCII symbols for SPACE and NULL?


     Let me rephrase that sentence.  It should read, "A symbol with no
meaning is no symbol at all."

     The mathematical symbol '0' denotes a member of the set of numerals, a
point on the number line, and so on.  These are all things.  The
mathematical symbol {} denotes a member of the set of all sets, namely the
one having no elements.  This is a set and therefore also a thing.  The
empty set is still a set, just as an empty box is still a box.


Dan Hankins