John Searle's “Minds, Brains, and Programs” Flashcards
What is the central claim of Searle’s critique?
Searle argues that passing the Turing Test does not prove that a machine understands or thinks—simulation is not understanding.
What does Searle argue against in Strong AI?
That implementing the right program is sufficient for consciousness or understanding.
What is the Turing Test?
A test for machine intelligence where a computer’s responses are indistinguishable from a human’s.
What is the structure of Turing’s argument?
(1) Computers will pass the Turing Test.
(2) Passing the Turing Test = thinking.
(3) Therefore, computers will think.
What is the key assumption in Strong AI?
Simulating human behavior is sufficient for genuine thought or understanding.
What is Searle’s Chinese Room thought experiment?
A non-Chinese speaker manipulates Chinese symbols following rules, convincingly simulating understanding—yet has no comprehension.
What does the Chinese Room argue against?
That running a program (syntax) is not enough to produce understanding (semantics).
What is Searle’s conclusion from the Chinese Room?
Computers may process symbols but do not understand them—there is no intentionality or consciousness.
What is the Systems Reply and Searle’s counter?
Reply: The whole system understands.
Counter: Even if he memorized the rules and internalized the system, he still wouldn’t understand Chinese.
What is the Other Minds Reply and Searle’s response?
Reply: We judge others’ minds by behavior.
Counter: The question is not how we know others think, but what thinking is.
What is behaviorism in the philosophy of mind?
The view that mental states are equivalent to behavioral dispositions.
What are key objections to behaviorism?
Feeling an itch ≠ disposition to scratch
Same behavior can come from different mental states
Mental states involve inner experience, not just external behavior
What is supervenience in Searle’s view?
Mental states depend on physical states—e.g., beauty may supervene on brush strokes, but value doesn’t.
What does Searle mean by hardware mattering?
Biological substrate (brains) is necessary for consciousness—programs alone aren’t enough.
