From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!psych.toronto.edu!christo Tue May 12 15:49:23 EDT 1992
Article 5449 of comp.ai.philosophy:
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy,talk.phlisophy.misc
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>From: christo@psych.toronto.edu (Christopher Green)
Subject: Re: Question: Minds and Machines
Organization: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
References: <1992May2.170158.5837@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu> <1992May5.201703.17963@psych.toronto.edu> <OZ.92May6132613@ursa.sis.yorku.ca>
Message-ID: <1992May7.163330.16127@psych.toronto.edu>
Date: Thu, 7 May 1992 16:33:30 GMT

In article <OZ.92May6132613@ursa.sis.yorku.ca> oz@ursa.sis.yorku.ca (Ozan Yigit) writes:
>christo@psych.toronto.edu (Christopher Green) writes:
>
>   bill@NSMA.AriZonA.EdU (Bill Skaggs) writes:
>   
>   >  Regarding (1), the greatest resemblence is at a very abstract level:
>   >both computers and brains are essentially information processing
>   >devices.  
>
>   Nothing like a little whole-hearted question-begging to get things
>   off on the right foot, eh? Brains are no more *essentially* information
>   processing devices than weather systems are. [etc]
>
>Nothing like a little pronouncement to the contrary to get things off on
>the right foot, eh? Now, if we only had some substance...
>
>   Nice try. :-)
>
A very nice try indeed. Let me rephrase slightly. It had not been demonstrated
that brains are any more *essentially* information processing devices than
it has that weather systems are. And the onus is on those who claim them
to be so. Moreover, I thought we had stopped attempting to demonstrate
essences a while back.

A poor rebuttal, my uptown friend.
 

-- 
Christopher D. Green                christo@psych.toronto.edu
Psychology Department               cgreen@lake.scar.utoronto.ca
University of Toronto
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