<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><div style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span><br></span></div><div style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br></div> <div style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"> <div style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"> <div dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <hr size="1"> <font size="2" face="Arial">Stathis Papaioannou <stathisp@gmail.com> wrote:</font></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><br></font></div><div class="y_msg_container" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt;">> The matter in the
brain follows rigid, mechanistic rules. </div><div class="y_msg_container" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></div><div class="y_msg_container" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So many believe. This question is more about the arguments for and against free will.</span></div><div class="y_msg_container" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></div><div class="y_msg_container" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">> The same </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">rules that the matter in computers follows. You claim that mind comes</span></div><div class="y_msg_container" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new
york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt;">> out of the matter in the brain, but it is impossible for mind to come<br>> out of the matter in a computer. How can you be so sure about this?<br><br>I've mentioned at least a couple of my reasons:</div><div class="y_msg_container" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br></div><div class="y_msg_container"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1) Semantics is not intrinsic to syntax. There is no </span>conceivable<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> way that a digital computer running software could know the meanings of the symbols it manipulates.</span><br><br><br>2) Even if 1) is false; that is, even if the human brain/mind could be modeled as a digital computer that manipulates symbols in such a way it has conscious experience (semantics), there is no real syntax in the brain. We assign it to the physics. We're only imagining it.</div><div
class="y_msg_container"><br></div><div class="y_msg_container">Gordon</div> </div> </div> </div></body></html>