From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!neat.cs.toronto.edu!cbo Mon May 25 14:05:27 EDT 1992
Article 5659 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: cbo@cs.toronto.edu (Calvin Bruce Ostrum)
Subject: Re: AI failures
Message-ID: <92May14.141143edt.47895@neat.cs.toronto.edu>
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
References: <1992May12.081742.22060@norton.com> <upsnbINNk2c@early-bird.think.com> <1992May13.173251.17396@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu> <1992May13.234419.17060@news.media.mit.edu>
Date: 14 May 92 18:12:09 GMT
Lines: 43


Marvin Minsky explains:
| Whenever you find out why something is good - or
| is true - you still have to ask what makes *that* reason good and
| true.

We *have* to?  Why?  Can't we just act on what we have discovered (or,
more accurately, have reason to believe we have discovered)?

|  No matter what you discover, at every step, these kinds of
| questions will always remain, because you have to challenge every
| answer with, "Why should I accept *that* answer?"  Such circularities
| can only waste our time by forcing us only to repeat, over and over
| and over again, "What good is Good?"  and "What god made God?"

Why is this a waste of time? Or, perhaps the question should be: 
what's wrong with wasting time? 

| All human cultures evolve institutions of law, religion, and
| philosophy, and these institutions both adopt specific answers to
| circular questions, and establish authority-schemes to indoctrinate
| people with those beliefs.  One might complain that such
| establishments substitute dogma for reason and truth.  But in
| exchange, they spare whole populations from wasting time in fruitless
| reason-loops.  Minds can lead more productive lives when working on
| problems which can be solved.

I'm not sure I understand. Is it *better* that minds lead more productive
lives? This seems to be the unquestioned assumption here. Marvin claims
that the evolved institutions are answering questions that can't really
be answered. Then right away, he seems to be arguing that that these 
institutions are a good thing, nevertheless, because they allow minds to 
lead more productive lives...

(Okay, you all think I'm a moron. So shoot me. Hans would. Negative net 
worth, after all.)

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Calvin Ostrum                                            cbo@cs.toronto.edu  
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	"Bee eye jee enn you tea aiych eye enn" -- The Roches
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