From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!torn.onet.on.ca!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!news2me.ebay.sun.com!exodus.Eng.Sun.COM!orfeo.Eng.Sun.COM!silber Tue Jun  9 10:07:54 EDT 1992
Article 6156 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: silber@orfeo.Eng.Sun.COM (Eric Silber)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: The transitivity of consciousness (was Re: Homunculus and the witch's brew )
Date: 8 Jun 1992 18:33:25 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
Lines: 24
Message-ID: <l379vlINNck6@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>
References: <1992May31.212826.1778@news.media.mit.edu> <1992Jun1.020633.15541@Princeton.EDU> <BpDor5.J5B@psych.toronto.edu> <1992Jun5.170951.3442@mp.cs.niu.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: orfeo
Keywords: computation, transduction, homunculus, sensorimotor physiology

In article <1992Jun5.170951.3442@mp.cs.niu.edu> rickert@mp.cs.niu.edu (Neil Rickert) writes:
...
>  I believe you are missing the point.  If I understand what Harnad is
>claiming, I believe he is claiming that intelligence is not merely a
>property of the brain.  At least some of the transductions he is
>referring to occur outside the brain, and he believes these are
>important to human intelligence.

  Just substitute 'nervous system' for every occurrence of 'brain', then
  substitute 'total-turing-thing' for every occurrence of 'nervous system';
  I think part of the issue raised by SH's 'symbol grounding thesis' goes to
  whether consciousness can be , in some sense transitive; the
  'symbol grounding' thesis may have as a corollary that  'consciousness
  cannot be transitive'
>
>  Let me add that I fully agree with this view of the importance of
>such transduction to human intelligence.  My disagreement with Harnad
>is that I do not accept that this implies any necessity that artificial
>intelligence must completely follow the same route.
>

  Yes, exactly.  




