From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.ecf!utgpu!csd.unb.ca!morgan.ucs.mun.ca!nstn.ns.ca!aunro!ukma!seismo!uunet!mcsun!uknet!edcastle!aiai!jeff Thu Jan  9 10:33:49 EST 1992
Article 2527 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: jeff@aiai.ed.ac.uk (Jeff Dalton)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Virtual Person? (was re: Searle and the Chine
Keywords: personal identity
Message-ID: <5894@skye.ed.ac.uk>
Date: 7 Jan 92 20:04:10 GMT
References: <1991Dec13.204324.27948@cs.yale.edu> <1991Dec15.023122.6582@husc3.harvard.edu> <1991Dec16.181202.526@cs.yale.edu> <1991Dec16.163345.6653@husc3.harvard.edu> <!!5q-0+@rpi.edu> <335@tdatirv.UUCP>
Reply-To: jeff@aiai.UUCP (Jeff Dalton)
Organization: AIAI, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Lines: 18

In article <335@tdatirv.UUCP> sarima@tdatirv.UUCP (Stanley Friesen) writes:
>I would say that a virtual person would have all of the cognitive and
>volitional processes that a 'normal' person has.

Sure, if it really ought to be called a person.  But that's just
the question, isn't it?

>Really, I see no reason to deny the Chinsese Room any of the attributes
>of personhood.

But what is your reason for thinking it does have the attributes
of personhod?  Its behavior, just as Searle pointed out when
accusing the system-reply of question begging.

>I consider semantics to be a necessary precondition to producing a convincing,
>unrestricted dialog with human beings.

But again, this is assuming what's to be proved.


