From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!uknet!warwick!nott-cs!ucl-cs!news Mon Jan  6 10:30:39 EST 1992
Article 2507 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: <2213@ucl-cs.uucp>
Date: 6 Jan 92 12:57:29 GMT
Sender: news@cs.ucl.ac.uk
Lines: 34


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 (speech) act(ion). (The answers are created
inside the room by a human, who we assume has an average capacity for
thought: not very stunning!) Searle elides any other intelligent
action.

Consider the room as a whole; intelligence is needed in the lookup and
translation of Chinese to English and then back again.  All this is
done by the human, who also answers the questions, in her native
tongue.

Samuel Johnson said, very succinctly (c. 1780?):

   `` Language is the dress of thought.''

____

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
                  SU(2)xU(1) when I see it.

[This message is a repeat of  <2211@ucl-cs.uucp>, edited and augmented.]


