From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!psych.toronto.edu!christo Tue Nov 19 11:09:25 EST 1991
Article 1242 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: christo@psych.toronto.edu (Christopher Green)
Subject: Re: Chinese Room Variant
Message-ID: <1991Nov8.170856.21527@psych.toronto.edu>
Keywords: ai philosophy searle expert system
Organization: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
References: <1991Nov7.151439.3353@osceola.cs.ucf.edu>
Date: Fri, 8 Nov 1991 17:08:56 GMT

In article <1991Nov7.151439.3353@osceola.cs.ucf.edu> clarke@next1 (Thomas Clarke) writes:
>While contemplating the application of expert system tecnhiques to education, I
>was led to the following variation of the "Chinese Room."  Frankly, while I  
>find Searle's version unconvincing, I have a hard time shaking this one - 
>perhaps because of its mathematical flavor.
>
>A child is taught an abstract system of computation with two operations @ and &  
[...]
>
>After much tutelage by an expert system, the child is able to perform & and @  
>for arbitrary pairs of strings with nearly flawless accuracy.
>
>My question is:  Does the child understand the concept of number? arithmetic?  
>I would say not; it seems to me there is more to number than computational
>manipulations.
>
I would say your intuition is absolutely right. What I don't understand is 
why you are, then, not convinced by Searle's version. The parallel question
would be "Does the child understand (the concepts expressed by) Chinese
sentences." Note, before we get off on a red herring, that the question
does not ask whether the child *has* the concepts, per se, but whether
they are "tokened" by the Chinese sentences. The answer is clearly not.


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