[ExI] Wernicke's aphasia and the CRA.

[Gordon Swobe]

--- On Tue, 12/8/09, John Clark <jonkc at bellsouth.net> wrote:

>> A1: Programs are formal (syntactic).
>> A2: Minds have mental contents (semantics). 
>> A3: Syntax is neither constitutive of nor
>> sufficient for semantics. 
>> Ergo, 
>> C1: Programs are neither constitutive of nor
>> sufficient for minds.
> 
> So he assumes that programs can't have minds and
> then triumphantly concludes that programs can't have
> minds. 

I could hardly contain my excitement when I read your words. I thought, "Hey, maybe John has handed me a weapon to use in my debate with that Searlian philosophile over on that other discussion list! I wonder what that Searlian will say when he learns that his favorite professor made such an egregious error!"

I looked at the argument hoping to see what you see. I didn't see it, so leaned closer to my monitor, rubbed my chin and squinted my eyes. I still didn't see it.

Only A1 refers to programs, and I see nothing there about minds. In fact we could restate that premise without changing its meaning: "Programs are formal (syntactic) and may or may not be constitutive or sufficient for minds." 

-gts