[Wittrs] Re: Wittgenstein and "Brain Scripts"
- From: "iro3isdx" <xznwrjnk-evca@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: wittrs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:28:22 -0000
--- In Wittrs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "BruceD" <blroadies@...> wrote:
> If thinking requires brain activity, and brain activity can be
> simulated on a computer, then why isn't "thinking like computation?"
Some thinking can be like computation, except that computation as done
on a computer seems to be mechanical.
My view gives perception a central role. If thinking is behavior, then
our perception of self includes a perception of that (possibly
suppressed) behavior. And perception is evaluative. That evaluative
aspect is missing with computation.
When logic is done on a computer, it is mechanical. We rely on
mechanical contraints to force the logic in a computer to take the
correct route (i.e. follow the rules of inference). When we do logic,
what we do is not mechanical, but we instead use the evaluative aspect
of thinking. As we proceed with the logic, we are evaluating the steps
we take, checking on whether we are properly following the rules of
inference. But the evaluative component of our doing logic is broader
than what is provided by the mechanical constraints of the computer.
In particular, it is not purely syntactical. We evaluate the syntactic
actions to check that we follow the rules of inference. But we also
evaluate the semantic aspects, and that's why we are less likely than
the computer to fall into the "garbage in, garbage out" problem.
> I don't mean to be difficult but now it seems as if we have two
> agents. One, the neural system, managing behavior and the other,
> the person, thinking.
Hmm, no. The neural system is not an agent. The person is an agent,
and the neural system is involved in providing the agency (by doing the
grunt work).
Regards,
Neil
WEB VIEW: http://tinyurl.com/ku7ga4
TODAY: http://alturl.com/whcf
3 DAYS: http://alturl.com/d9vz
1 WEEK: http://alturl.com/yeza
GOOGLE: http://groups.google.com/group/Wittrs
YAHOO: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wittrs/
FREELIST: //www.freelists.org/archive/wittrs/09-2009
Other related posts:
