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Article 2488 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: G.Joly@cs.ucl.ac.uk (Gordon Joly)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Ignore Searle and be happier
Message-ID: <2211@ucl-cs.uucp>
Date: 3 Jan 92 10:53:18 GMT
Sender: news@cs.ucl.ac.uk
Lines: 37

petersow@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com (Wayne Peterson) writes:
>> Do you actually believe the library itself has knowledge?  The library
>> has the results of the knowledge of many people in the books in the racks,
>> but does a book have knowledge of what is written on its pages?
>> When a person reads a book perhaps some knowledge transferance 
>> occurs indirectly from one consciousness (the auther) to another
>> (the reader) ,but does the book now have the knowledge.  Likewise
>> does the computer know what is run on it.  Again I dont think you
>> can separate knowledge from consciousness.  Likewise we cant 
>> separate opinion from our dim conscousnesses.  As Plato said "This
>> is the world of opinion." There is very little knowledge in it
>> (or very little conscousness).  
>> Perhaps the difference between AI and I(ntelligence) is consciousness.

Searle's 1983 book "Intentionality - An essay in the philosophy of
mind" (published by CUP), states, on the first page of the
Introduction (page vii):

  ``A basic assumption behind my approach to the problems of language
  is that the philosophy of language is a branch of the philosophy of
  mind.''

No wonder Searle invented the Chinese Room, where natural language
translation is the key action. That seems to be the only action that
matters. The answers are created inside the room by a human, who we
assume has an average capacity for thought. He elides any other
"intelligent" action, in the room as a whole, that is not carried out
by the person inside the room.

____

Gordon Joly                                       +44 71 387 7050 ext 3716
Internet: G.Joly@cs.ucl.ac.uk          UUCP: ...!{uunet,ukc}!ucl-cs!G.Joly
Computer Science, University College London, Gower Street, LONDON WC1E 6BT

          I didn't get where I am today by not recognising
               a fibre bundle when I see one.


