Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
From: ohgs@chatham.demon.co.uk (Oliver Sparrow)
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!news2.near.net!howland.reston.ans.net!news.sprintlink.net!peernews.demon.co.uk!chatham.demon.co.uk!ohgs
Subject: Re: What's innate? (Was Re: Artificial Neural Networks and Cognition
References: <1995Jan4.203858.27692@galileo.cc.rochester.edu> <3eh8bs$s9f@mp.cs.niu.edu> <D1yB6E.1HA@spss.com> <3eog4a$ne2@percy.cs.bham.ac.uk> <D2EMAJ.Gsp@news.cern.ch>
Organization: Royal Institute of International Affairs
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Date: Mon, 16 Jan 1995 15:26:07 +0000
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There seem two dimensions (at least) which are at play. There are structures
at work in cognition: are they innate or do they becoem generated by feedback
and other mechanisms? (Vertical axis) These structures may serve as the source
of signals to the rest of the structure - playing no other role - or they
may exist as a consequence of their role within a self-supporting network of
structure. (Horizontal axis).

                                --------------------------------------
              Genetically-     |                                      |
              determined       |  Core sensoria         Somatic feed- | 
              structure with   |  & basic systems       back; innate  |
              functional       |  of interpretation     drives and    |
              predispositions  |  & association.        their triggers|
                               |                                      |
Sources of structure           |                                      |
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^           |                                      |
              Labile structures|  Systems of            Symbolic      |
              which establish  |  filtration            grammars;     |
              specialised tasks|  created by            interpretive  |
              through feedback |  experience            frameworks.   |
                                --------------------------------------
                               Bottom-up               Networked system
                               flags & filters               components

                                     Role of a structural element
                                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The resulting space has room for all of the views which have been expressed
in this thread. Chomskey fanciers are certainly on strong territory in the
upper left and much of the upper right. They are on weak ground on the
lower right. Those who believe that everything self-assembles from a loosely
defined matrix of neurons (or whatever) may have much on their side on the 
lower left; but find the upper right difficult turf. 

It would seem likely that we are a bit of this and a bit of that; and that no
one framework will be sufficient to capture all of what we are. I know that
it enables intellectual debate hugely if one can show that a system is bounded
by certain rules - innate grammar, TM-machine limits and the like - but the
universe is not founded for the convenience of intellectuals.
 
_________________________________________________

  Oliver Sparrow
  ohgs@chatham.demon.co.uk
