From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!uknet!edcastle!aiai!jeff Tue Jan 21 09:26:42 EST 1992
Article 2836 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: jeff@aiai.ed.ac.uk (Jeff Dalton)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Virtual Person?
Message-ID: <6005@skye.ed.ac.uk>
Date: 17 Jan 92 18:51:17 GMT
References: <1992Jan10.213635.1884@cs.yale.edu> <5965@skye.ed.ac.uk> <1992Jan16.040733.23764@cs.yale.edu> <1992Jan16.054723.16068@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu>
Reply-To: jeff@aiai.UUCP (Jeff Dalton)
Organization: AIAI, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Lines: 28

In article <1992Jan16.054723.16068@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu> chalmers@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu (David Chalmers) writes:
>In article <1992Jan16.040733.23764@cs.yale.edu> mcdermott-drew@CS.YALE.EDU (Drew McDermott) writes:
>
>>It is devilishly hard to extract Searle's argument in a clear form.
>
>To be fair, I think that no matter what confusing statements Searle
>makes, there is at least the skeleton of a noncircular argument
>there, i.e.
>
>Premise 1: If strong AI is true, then there exists a program P such that
>implementing P is sufficient for mentality.
>
>Premise 2: Any program P can be implemented Chinese-room style, without
>being accompanied by mentality.
>
>Conclusion: Strong AI is false.
>
>Of course, the crucial point is premise 2.  But to be fair again, I don't
>think that Searle accepts premise 2 only because he thinks strong AI is
>false.  I think that he thinks the idea that the Chinese room has
>mentality is independently ridiculous.

An excellent statement of Searle's argument, IMHO.  Though I
disagree with Dave Chalmers on sone things, I think he's been
very good at explaining this, "causal powers", and other things.

However, Premise 2 does demand some additional argument in order
to justify the "without being accompanied by mentality" part.


