From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!psych.toronto.edu!michael Tue May 12 15:50:04 EDT 1992
Article 5520 of comp.ai.philosophy:
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Path: newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!psych.toronto.edu!michael
>From: michael@psych.toronto.edu (Michael Gemar)
Subject: Re: brains and information processing
Organization: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
References: <1992May6.205923.14479@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu> <1992May7.164257.17225@psych.toronto.edu> <1992May7.192257.23595@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu>
Message-ID: <1992May9.235905.18831@psych.toronto.edu>
Date: Sat, 9 May 1992 23:59:05 GMT

In article <1992May7.192257.23595@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu> bill@NSMA.AriZonA.EdU (Bill Skaggs) writes:
>In article <1992May7.164257.17225@psych.toronto.edu> 
>christo@psych.toronto.edu (Christopher Green) writes:
>>
>>This sounds pretty teleological to me, but I think you've missed the point.
>>The question is why you would characterize information processing as
>>the *essential* function of the brain. Even if it is *a* function of
>>the brain, why *essential*?
>>
>  I take it as self-evident that brains have evolved because they
>contribute to the survival of organisms. 

As do the other organs of the body.  (However, one should avoid the 
"Panglossian fallacy" of assuming that *every* characteristic that we
possess has selective value.)

> They contribute to
>survival by controlling the actions of muscles and other tissues.

As far as I understand it, various other organs also control the
behaviour of various parts of the body.  As one example, the reflex
acr does not involve any brain "processing".  In addition, again as
far as I understand it, many organs, through chemical secretions, control
the action of other organs rather directly.

>They control tissues by receiving signals from them and from
>special sensors, recombining those signals in fabulously intricate
>ways, and then sending signals to the tissues.  So the
>biological function of brains is to manipulate signals, and
>that's what I mean by "processing information."

Again, question-begging is beginning to creep in...

>  In contrast,
>the function of the liver is to transform chemicals; the function
>of the muscles is to generate forces; etc..

If we look at the brain under one perspective, all we actually *see* are
chemicals being transformed.  To say that what the brain does is
"manipulate signals" is *just* as much question-begging as saying
it "processes information".  



I certainly don't mean to be intentionally perverse on this issue, since
I *do* understand the point that Bill is trying to make.  However, I
do think that it is important that things be phrased in a way that avoids
the problems I point out above, i.e., that separates brain function from
other organ function in a principled, unambiguous fashion.  Otherwise,
a whole host of assumptions can be implicitly made without being
recognised.


- michael


