[ExI] digital simulations, descriptions and copies

Stefano Vaj stefano.vaj at gmail.com
Wed Jan 20 18:00:54 UTC 2010


2010/1/19 Gordon Swobe <gts_2000 at yahoo.com>:
> The computationalist theory of mind, in which the brain is seen as a digital computer running software, does not explain how people can understand their own words.

The computationalist theory of PCs, in which digital computers are
seen as, well, digital computers, does not explain how PCs can
"understand" their own instructions either.

The X-theory of organic brains, in which the brain would be processing
information in some radically different way from any other "universal
computing-level system", does not even show that some (which?) organic
brains would do anything special in this respect.

Because in fact if "understanding" is taken to mean something so
radically ineffable, it is very difficult that any theory can make any
sensible use of the concept.

-- 
Stefano Vaj



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