[lit-ideas] Re: view of names, or in ginocchio da te

  • From: Donal McEvoy <donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2013 12:42:18 +0100 (BST)




________________________________
 From: John McCreery <john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx>

 


>Omar beat me to it. No reason why a machine [snip] can't be programmed to make 
>mistakes.>

Correct: and its programme may also contain "mistakes" that have not been 
intentionally programmed in or of which the programmer is unaware: and, through 
physical dysfunction, it may even make a mistake contrary to its programme (if 
that programme were functioning properly on the computer).

So I agree that the capacity to make mistakes is not a sound basis for 
distinguishing humans from machines.

What may provide a basis is the capacity to correct mistakes - for humans may 
consciously correct errors without this correction being merely 'programmatic', 
whereas a computer cannot consciously correct its errors this way but can only 
correct its mistakes in so far as it has a programme to detect and correct 
those mistakes. 

Obviously this basis needs some arguing out.

My reply to Omar on physicalism as "empirical" is posted separately.

Donal
London

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