Midterm Flashcards
What is cognitive science
The scientific interdisciplinary study of the mind
What is computation
The transformation or manipulation of information
What is representation
Something that stands for something else
What are referents
The thing or things in the external world that a representation stands for
What is symbolic
A representation that stands for something else
What is a semantic
The meaning of a representation
What is intentionality
The relationship between a representation and what it stands for
What is appropriate causal relation
The relation between sensory inputs, motor outputs, and the representations that come between them
What is the formal system
A system of symbols that can be combined into expressions that can then be manipulated by processes to form new expressions
What is the Physical Symbol System Hypothesis
The idea that a formal system can allow for intelligence even in computers
What is the symbol grounding problem
An argument against the PSSH that states computer symbols cannot have semantic properties because computer programs are not in bodies that can percieve and act in the world
What is designate
The notion that a symbol expression can designate an object if it can affect the object itself or behave in ways that depend on the object
What is a concept
an idea that reoresent a class of entitites that have been grouped together
What is a proposition
A statement or assertion typically posed in the form of a simple sentence
What is the production rule
Propositions or predicates whose truth or falsity can be determined
What is declarative knowledge
Knowledge that represents facts
What is procedural knowledge
Knowledge that represents skills
What is an analogy
A mental representation used to compare known information with new information to which it is similar
What is computational level
An abstract level of analysis that asks what type of problem a computation solves and how it may have arisen
What is an algorithm
A formal procedure or system that acts on informational representations
What is a procedure
An algorithmic process
What is algorithmic level
A level of information processing that specifies exactly how the data are to be transformed, including what the steps are and what the order of the steps is
What is implementational level
A “hardware” level of analysis that specifies the pjysical processes that carry out a computation
What is the formal symbol manipulator
A system that operates on contentless symbols based on a set of rules
What is dynamical perspective
A perspective that views the mind as constantly changing as it adapts to new information
What is deductive reasoning
The application of the rules of logic to statements about the world; if the premise statements are correct, then the concluding statement must be as well
What is inductive reasoning
A form of thinking in which commonalities about specific instances in the world are noticed and used to draw conclusions
What is experimental philosophy
A form of philosophy that utilizes empirical methods, typically in the form of surveys that provide constructed scenarios. The surveys are used to assess people’s intuitions in order to help answer philosophical questions
What is magnetic resonance imaging
A brain imaging technique in which a patient is placed inside a tube containing a powerful magnet. Protons align themselves in this magnetic field. A radio wave pulse is then applied to the brain or other part of the body undergoing the scan. The radio signals are bounced back and picked up by a detector unit
What is the hierarchical paradigm
A highly sequential robotic architecture in which planning is a key element of it’s design; also referrred to as a “top-down” approach to robotic design
What is metaphysics
The branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality
What is epistemology
The branch of philosophy devoted to the study of knowledge
What is monism
The belief that the mental and physical consist of a single type of state or substance
What is dualism
The belief that the mental and physical consist of different states or subtances
What is the philosophical behaviourism
The idea that mental states are dispositions or tendencies to behave in certain ways under certain circumstances
What is idealism
The belief that only mental entities are real that the universe is essentially nonphysical
What is physicalism
Also known as materialism; the belief that the universde is entirely physical
What is the identity theory
The philosophical view that themind is the brain; mental states are the physical states of the brain
What is eliminativism
The philosophical view that advocates abandoning words describibing the mind and using only words describing the brain
What is folk psychology
Theories of mind that use subjective terms and commonsense or intuitive reasoning
What is multiple realization
The view that nay given mental state, such as pain can be instantiated or realizxed differently in different creatures
What is classical dualism
THe belief that both mental and physical realms are possible where the mind controls the body
What is substance dualism
The view that the mind and the body are composed of completely different substances
What is property dualism
The view that the mind and the body are made of the same stuff but have different properties
What are physical kinds
Things that are identified by their material composition only
What are functional kinds
Things that are distinguished by their actions or tendencies
What is functionalism
The view that mental states are not just physical states but the functioning or operation of those physical states
What is qualia
The felt or experienced character of mental states
What is the nature-nuture debate
A controversy that centers on the relative contribution of biology and experience in determining any particular capacity
What is nativism
A belief that a significant body of knowledge is innate or “built into” an organism
What is rationalism
The belief in the existence of innate ideas
What is empiricism
The view that knowledge is acquired through experience
What are simple ideas
Ideas derived through sensory input or simple processes of reflection
What are complex ideas
Ideas formed from the active mental combination of simple ideas
What are reflexes
A behavior in which a stimulus triggers sensory neurons that activate intermediary neurons, which turn activate motor, causing a simple motor response
What is phenomenal concept of mind
The idea of mind as a conscious experience
What is the psychological concept of mind
The idea of mind as mental states that cause and explain behavior
What is are the easy problems of consciousness
Those problems that can be solved by cognitive science and that can be explained in terms of computational or neural mechanisms
What are the hard problems of consciousness
Those problems that require explaining the subjective quality of consciousness
What are explanatory gap
The problem that subjective experience may not be fully explained by an objective account using physical and mechanical processes; the gulf between an objective and subjective description of mental phenomena
What is reductionism
The idea that an understanding of parts can completely account for the behavior of a whole
What is emergence
The idea that the features of a whole are not completely independent of the parts that make them up
What is the emergent property
A property that is realized through the interaction of a system’s parts
What is the Central Processing Unit (CPU)
That part of a computer that executes the instructions and controls the sequence of instructions to be carried out
What is a homunculus
A hypothetical “little man” inside *the mind who interprets and understands information
What is the Neural correlates of Consciousness (NCC)
The minimal set of neural events and structures sufficient for a specific conscious experience
What is binocular rivalry
A phenomenon in which two perceptions alternately view for visual consciousness
What is strong AI
View asserts that consciousness can arise from a purely physical process
What is weak AI
Consciousness is itself either not a physical process, and so can never be reproduced, or is a physical process but such a complex one that we will never be able to duplicate it artificially
What is the chinese room scenario
A hypothetical situation in which a man uses a set of instructions to produce replies to questions in Chinese. It argues that the man can never learn to understand Chinese
What is psychology
THe scientific study of mind and behavior
What is a scientific method
A process of studying natural phenomena that involves observation and the testing of hypotheses through the use of experiments
What is a hypothesis
A statement derived from a theory that concerns potential outcomes in an experiment
What is a theory
A set of statements that organizes facts and aids in understanding how the world works
What is an independent variable
In an experiment, a factor manipulated or altered by the experimenter to see if it will cause a change
What is a dependent variable
A factor measured or observed by the experimenter to see if a change has taken place
What is an experimental group
In an experiment, the group receiving the independent variable
What is a control group
The group in an experiment that does not receive the independent variable
What is voluntarism
A movement that viewed the mind as consisting of elements and stressed that these elements were assembled into higher level cognitive components through the power of the will
What is introspection
The process of “looking inward” to experience and descrive mental objects or states
What is immediate experience
An individual’s direct awareness of something
What is mediate experiences
Experiences that come from mental reflection about an object
What is the tridimensional theory of feeling
A theory stating that all feelings can be characterized by three dimensions: pleasure-displeasure, tension-relaxtion and excitement-depression
What is creative synthesis
A principle by which the mind actively organizes mental elements together such that the resulting whole contains new properties. The new properties cannot be explained by the characteristics of the individuel elements themselves
What is structuralism
A theory that emphasizes studying the structure or basic elements of mind and how they combine
What is stimulus error
Confusing our true experience of an object with description of the object based on language and past experience
What is reagent
A substance added to a mixture to produce a particular chemical reaction
What is quality
The characterustuc that distinguishes sensations from one another
What is intensity
The strength of a sensation
What is duration
How long a sesnation persists
What is clearness
The clarity of a sensation determined by the amount of attention paid to it
What is extensity
The extent to which a sensation fills or occupies space
What is psychophysics
The use of quantitative methods to measure relationships between stimuli, which are physical , and perception, which is psychological
