The Mind as a Computer Programm

Question 1

Who was the first scientist proposing the idea of a universal (re-)programmable machine?

Answer 1

Alan Turing (1912 - 1954)

Question 2

What is the functionalist’s answer to the question if a programm can “think”?

Answer 2

A programm can think if it has the same functional properties as a thinking brain, no matter the physical properties of the realizers

Question 3

Who published the book The Language of Thought and developed the idea of computationalism?

What does computationalism try to explain?

Answer 3

Jerry Fodor (1935 - 2017)

How computers in general can think

Question 4

What is a symbol?

Answer 4

Physical forms that stand for other things

Question 5

What are syntactical properties of symbols?

Can machines process syntactical properties?

Answer 5

Physical properties which make a symbol recognizable

Yes

Question 6

What are semantical properties of symbols?

How can semantic properties be apprehended?

Can machines process semantical properties?

Answer 6

All properties that have to do with their meaning

Through the symbols specific relation to other objects or states of affairs

Question 7

What assumptions do we have to accept, if we think that machines can be intelligent and do not just mimic intelligent behaviour?

Answer 7

Thinking is meaningfull and logicall connecting of thoughts

Thoughts are strings & sentences in a system
Strings of symbols stand for whatever they are reffering to which is the content of thoughts

Question 8

How can a machine handle the meaning of strings of symbols?

Answer 8

Computalism distinguishes between syntax & semantics

Machines can recognize and manipulate symbols only based on their syntactical properties

The trick is, building a machine that uses rules to transform strings of symbols into other strings of symbols without losing the meaning of the original string

Question 9

What are the basic ideas behind computationalism?

Answer 9

(1) A computer is a machine that performs computation on strings of symbols and by doing so produces other strings of symbols

(2) It is possible to program computers in such a way thst if we look at the semantic properties of these symbols, meaningfull trains of thoughts emerge

(3) The human brain is a computer that respects demands (1) & (2)

Question 10

What is the language of thought?

What are its features?

Answer 10

An innate and culturally indipendent structure (or program) that is the basis of how we manipulate symbols.

Rationality
Semantic properties of symbols are respected

Compositionality
Thoughts consis of discrete, identifiable and re-identifiable components
banana -> yellow; banana -> fruit

Systematic
We can grasp a general structure of our thoughts
banana -> fruit; X -> Y; apple -> fruit

Productivity
The limitless ability to think new thoughts

Question 11

The Chinese Room

Answer 11

John Searle (1932)

Attack on computationalism
According to computationalism, any system that implements the language of thought must be a thinking system.
The chinese room implements the language of thought but is merely a simulation of thinking.

Answers

Question 12

Connectionism

Answer 12

Another challenge for computationalism

Classical AI systems -> top-down
Implementation of (an pre-established idea of) cognition as precisely as possible
Lack of learning, creativity, flexibility and spontaneity

Connectivistic approach -> bottom-up
Small parts of the brain are imitated and trained to perorm simple cognitive tasks (neural networks)
Can be creative and can learn but task are less complex

Connectionist systems resemble more our brain
Can “fill in” information that is lacking
No central processor but parallel processing
A damaged system can continiue to function (at least partially)

From these facts, many conclude, that computationalism does not capture the essence of human cognition.