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From: plugge@cs.rulimburg.nl (Leo Plugge)
Subject: Re: The Meaning of Life
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References: <34qm2c$ei2@scratchy.reed.edu> <SWRA01.94Sep11122615@cs19.cs.aukuni.ac.nz> <1994Sep11.025940.21054@news.media.mit.edu> <3514ejINNlbm@mendel.sis.pasteur.fr>
Date: Mon, 12 Sep 1994 10:46:14 GMT

In article <3514ejINNlbm@mendel.sis.pasteur.fr> mkersz@pasteur.fr (Michel Kerszberg) writes:

>Marvin Minski seems to think it is not important to define life before studying
>it.

>He is, in a sense, quite right: biologists have indeed studied life for a long
>time without being able to define it. Even more important, if and when it is
>`rigorously' defined it will be dead of course -- `rigor mortis' ...

>However, it must be noted that, while not agreeing on a definition of life,
>biologists appear to have known all along what biology *is*; and they have kept
>discussing the issue. That was important philosophically and sociologically. Now
>if a-life is going to be the science of anything interesting that occurs on a
>computer screen...

Psychologists appear to have known all along what intelligence *is*; and they 
have kept discussing the issue.

There are many such issues: 'love', 'chair', even 'science'.
These issues seem to escape definition because they do not have clear 
boudaries.
Everyone can come up with some prototypical example, but there are no 
exclusion criteria. Just try it on the subject "The Meaning of Chair" and 
you'll en up with the same problems.

IMHO Minski is right, it is a waste of time.


******************************************************************
Dr. L.A. Plugge, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Limburg
plugge@cs.rulimburg.nl          http://www.cs.rulimburg.nl/~plugge
