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Article 4868 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: throop@aurs01.UUCP (Wayne Throop)
Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.tech,comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: A rock implements every FSA
Message-ID: <60507@aurs01.UUCP>
Date: 1 Apr 92 21:07:39 GMT
References: <45426@dime.cs.umass.edu> <1992Mar28.092723.10365@husc3.harvard.edu>  <1992Mar31.070425.1633@csustan.csustan.edu> <1992Mar31.104855.10515@husc3.harvard.edu>
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> zeleny@zariski.harvard.edu (Mikhail Zeleny)
> if you can formulate a theoretical distinction
> between a material object "responding" to input by "producing" output, and
> another material object "just sitting there", please let the world know
> about it.  

Simplicity itself.  An object can be said to produce output in a
nontrivial sense if the map used to interpret output states does not
depend upon time.  Similarly for inputs.  And, if relevant, (eg, in
trying to distinguish functionalism from behaviorism) similarly for
internal states.

> Note that such a distinction would depend on their identity
> criteria.

Exactly so.  And the requirement not to depend upon time is very modest
indeed, yet seems to kill Putnam's line of reasoning quite dead.
(Of course, the map can depend upon quantities that happen to vary 
with time.  Or, for that matter on matters of time interval.  Just
not time coordinates, which are arbitrary in the first place.)

Wayne Throop       ...!mcnc!aurgate!throop


