Searle's celebrated Chinese Room Argument has shaken the foundations of Artificial Intelligence. Many refutations have been attempted, but none seem convincing. This paper is an attempt to sort out explicitly the assumptions and the logical, methodological and empirical points of disagreement. Searle is shown to have underestimated some features of computer modeling, but the heart of the issue turns out to be an empirical question about the scope and limits of the purely symbolic (computational) model of the mind. Nonsymbolic modeling (...) turns out to be immune to the Chinese Room Argument. The issues discussed include the Total Turing Test, modularity, neural modeling, robotics, causality and the symbol-grounding problem. (shrink)

Cognition is thinking; it feels like something to think, and only those who can feel can think. There are also things that thinkers can do. We know neither how thinkers can think nor how they are able to do what they can do. We are waiting for cognitive science to discover how. Cognitive science does this by testing hypotheses about what processes can generate what doing.This is called the Turing Test. It cannot test whether a process can generate feeling, hence (...) thinking — only whether it can generate doing. The processes that generate thinking and know-how are “distributed“ within the heads of thinkers, but not across thinkers' heads. Hence there is no such thing as distributed cognition, only collaborative cognition. Email and the Web have spawned a new form of collaborative cognition that draws upon individual brains' real-time interactive potential in ways that were not possible in oral, written or print interactions. (shrink)

In this first study of the social context that produced the Apocryphal Acts, Stevan L. Davies con­tends that women wrote the Acts and that the “Acts appear to have been a striving by Christian women for both a mode of self-expression and ...

As an atypical product of mass culture, the acclaimed series Westworld presents us with a layered dystopian narrative formed around several political issues relevant to our contemporary society. It uses a pastiche of the American history, staged as the Wild West­themed amusement park, presented in the form of simulacrum. As a reference with no referent, this park uses a network of historical signifiers to construct a space for the externalisation of fantasies of its clients, consequently commodifying the imaginary itself, and (...) creating surplus value for its owners. Simultaneously, within its reach, conscious androids conduct all of the necessary labour for its unimpeded functioning, although their consciousness and labour are not recognised and accepted. Because they structurally occupy a position of slaves in relation to humans, I will analyse this series as a political allegory on the master­slave dialectics established in the very heart of hyperreality that suggests a possibility of the return of the real, based on the rebellion of the androids. I intend to show how, because of the model of consciousness it maintains, the series is unable to fulfil what it implies. (shrink)

This short enquiry investigates the relationships between knowledge of English and attitude towards the English language as held by Japanese university students. The goal of this study was to gain a better understanding of how attitude affects the learning of English and whether gender or geographic location of a student ’s hometown plays a role. A random sample of 85 participants completed a 26 item questionnaire which measured background information, attitude to English and knowledge of English. The difference in English (...) knowledge over several prefectures was tested using ANOVA and the results indicated that there was no statistical difference observed. Difference in attitude to English between male and female students was tested using a t-test and no statistical difference was observed. Pearson Correlation was used to test for any relationship between knowledge and attitude to English, but again no statistical different relationship was found. In addition , Multiple Regression was used to determine if there was a linear relationship between knowledge of English, and the 3 variables attitude to English, gender and prefecture. Again there was no statistically significant linear relationship between these variable. (shrink)

This paper represents an attempt to better understand the educational expectations of Japanese university students. Eighty students were asked to indicate whether or not they felt there was some relationship between 24 English words. The results were then added and entered into a table where the number at each intersection of words represented the total number of students that felt there relationship between those two words. This table was then analyzed using Multidimensional Scaling to produce a two dimension plot representing (...) the relationship between these 24 words. Since the distance between the words the plot represents the level of similarity, a study of the result gives some insight into the educational expectations of these students. A description of the data collection and analysis, as well as, one possible interpretation of the results is included. (shrink)

This paper presents the results of an attempt to adapt the technology acceptance model to a questionnaire to indicate whether or not the Moodle content management system was accepted by 147 Japanese University English language students. The questionnaire consisted of 13 items based on the factors of usefulness and ease-of-use. A factor analysis was performed on the results to ensure the number of underlying factors explaining the data. The result indicated that 2 factors explained more than 94% of item variation. (...) In addition, a discussion of the individual participant answers demonstrated that more than 85% of participants of this study accepted the Moodle system as both useful and easy to use. (shrink)

The ethical case for Open Access (OA) (free online access) to research findings is especially salient when it is public health that is being compromised by needless access restrictions. But the ethical imperative for OA is far more general: It applies to all scientific and scholarly research findings published in peer-reviewed journals. And peer-to-peer access is far more important than direct public access. Most research is funded so as to be conducted and published, by researchers, in order to be taken (...) up, used, and built upon in further research and applications, again by researchers (pure and applied, including practitioners), for the benefit of the public that funded it – not in order to generate revenue for the peer-reviewed journal publishing industry (nor even because there is a burning public desire to read much of it). Hence OA needs to be mandated, by researchers' institutions and funders, for all research. (shrink)

The evolu on of language made it possible for us to think aloud, share our thoughts, pass them on by word‐of‐mouth.

When certain formal symbol systems (e.g., computer programs) are implemented as dynamic physical symbol systems (e.g., when they are run on a computer) their activity can be interpreted at higher levels (e.g., binary code can be interpreted as LISP, LISP code can be interpreted as English, and English can be interpreted as a meaningful conversation). These higher levels of interpretability are called "virtual" systems. If such a virtual system is interpretable as if it had a mind, is such a "virtual (...) mind" real? This is the question addressed in this "virtual" symposium, originally conducted electronically among four cognitive scientists: Donald Perlis, a computer scientist, argues that according to the computationalist thesis, virtual minds are real and hence Searle's Chinese Room Argument fails, because if Searle memorized and executed a program that could pass the Turing Test in Chinese he would have a second, virtual, Chinese-understanding mind of which he was unaware (as in multiple personality). Stevan Harnad, a psychologist, argues that Searle's Argument is valid, virtual minds are just hermeneutic overinterpretations, and symbols must be grounded in the real world of objects, not just the virtual world of interpretations. Computer scientist Patrick Hayes argues that Searle's Argument fails, but because Searle does not really implement the program: A real implementation must not be homuncular but mindless and mechanical, like a computer. Only then can it give rise to a mind at the virtual level. Philosopher Ned Block suggests that there is no reason a mindful implementation would not be a real one. (shrink)

In this paper we present two types of logics and \ ) where certain p-adic functions are associated to propositional formulas. Logics of the former type are p-adic valued probability logics. In each of these logics we use probability formulas K r,ρ α and D ρ α,β which enable us to make sentences of the form “the probability of α belongs to the p-adic ball with the center r and the radius ρ”, and “the p-adic distance between the probabilities of (...) α and β is less than or equal to ρ”, respectively. Logics of the later type formalize processes of thinking where information are coded by p-adic numbers. We use the same operators as above, but in this formalism K r,ρ α means “the p-adic code of the information α belongs to the p-adic ball with the center r and the radius ρ”, while D ρ α,β means “the p-adic distance between codes of α and β are less than or equal to ρ”. The corresponding strongly complete axiom systems are presented and decidability of the satisfiability problem for each logic is proved. (shrink)

The paper offers a formalization of reasoning about distributed multi-agent systems. The presented propositional probabilistic temporal epistemic logic |$\textbf {PTEL}$| is developed in full detail: syntax, semantics, soundness and strong completeness theorems. As an example, we prove consistency of the blockchain protocol with respect to the given set of axioms expressed in the formal language of the logic. We explain how to extend |$\textbf {PTEL}$| to axiomatize the corresponding first-order logic.

We study a propositional probabilistic temporal epistemic logic |$\textbf {PTEL}$| with both future and past temporal operators, with non-rigid set of agents and the operators for agents’ knowledge and for common knowledge and with probabilities defined on the sets of runs and on the sets of possible worlds. A semantics is given by a class |${\scriptsize{\rm Mod}}$| of Kripke-like models with possible worlds. We prove decidability of |$\textbf {PTEL}$| by showing that checking satisfiability of a formula in |${\scriptsize{\rm Mod}}$| is (...) equivalent to checking its satisfiability in a finite set of finitely representable structures. The same procedure can be applied to the class of all synchronous |${\scriptsize{\rm Mod}}$|-models. We give an upper complexity bound for the satisfiability problem for |${\scriptsize{\rm Mod}}$|⁠. (shrink)

A normalizable natural deduction formulation, with subformula property, of the implicative fragment of classical logic is presented. A traditional notion of normal deduction is adapted and the corresponding weak normalization theorem is proved. An embedding of the classical logic into the intuitionistic logic, restricted on propositional implicational language, is described as well. We believe that this multiple-conclusion approach places the classical logic in the same plane with the intuitionistic logic, from the proof-theoretical viewpoint.

There has been much discussion recently about the scope and limits of purely symbolic models of the mind and about the proper role of connectionism in cognitive modeling. This paper describes the symbol grounding problem : How can the semantic interpretation of a formal symbol system be made intrinsic to the system, rather than just parasitic on the meanings in our heads? How can the meanings of the meaningless symbol tokens, manipulated solely on the basis of their shapes, be grounded (...) in anything but other meaningless symbols? The problem is analogous to trying to learn Chinese from a Chinese/Chinese dictionary alone. A candidate solution is sketched: Symbolic representations must be grounded bottom-up in nonsymbolic representations of two kinds: iconic representations, which are analogs of the proximal sensory projections of distal objects and events, and categorical representations, which are learned and innate feature-detectors that pick out the invariant features of object and event categories from their sensory projections. Elementary symbols are the names of these object and event categories, assigned on the basis of their categorical representations. Higher-order symbolic representations, grounded in these elementary symbols, consist of symbol strings describing category membership relations. Connectionism is one natural candidate for the mechanism that learns the invariant features underlying categorical representations, thereby connecting names to the proximal projections of the distal objects they stand for. In this way connectionism can be seen as a complementary component in a hybrid nonsymbolic/symbolic model of the mind, rather than a rival to purely symbolic modeling. Such a hybrid model would not have an autonomous symbolic module, however; the symbolic functions would emerge as an intrinsically dedicated symbol system as a consequence of the bottom-up grounding of categories ' names in their sensory representations. Symbol manipulation would be governed not just by the arbitrary shapes of the symbol tokens, but by the nonarbitrary shapes of the icons and category invariants in which they are grounded. (shrink)

Participation in deliberation in stable democracies produces effects which are beneficial for democracy, while the results of deliberative innovations in non-democracies are more ambiguous. This article contributes to the debate about the effects of participatory democratic innovations on attitudes, related to democratic commitments, political capacities and political participation, in the increasingly ubiquitous hybrid regimes. We present the evidence collected from the participants before and after deliberative mini publics (DMPs), held in Serbia in 2020. Serbia is an exemplary case of a (...) recent wave of autocratization, which had led to it becoming a hybrid regime, and it had no track record of deliberative innovations. When conducting the mini publics, we introduced an innovation in the standard design, by including active citizens - representatives of local initiatives or social movements particularly interested in the issue of DMPs. We could not find evidence that the democratic innovation affected attitudes of participants regarding democratic commitments, political capacities and political participation. However, we did find that participants of the DMPs became less satisfied with the functioning of the democracy on the local level. We argue that the anti-democratic wider context of hybrid regimes can produce adverse effects when introducing participatory democratic innovations, at least when it comes to this specific dimension of political participation. We conclude with the suggestions for further research, and a call for consideration of the wider political context when designing democratic interventions in hybrid regimes. (shrink)

In this paper, we present a method for introducing law students to the writing of legal documents. The method uses a machine-readable representation of the legal knowledge to support document assembly and to help the students to understand how the assembly is performed. The knowledge base consists of enacted legislation, document templates, and assembly instructions. We propose a system called LEDAS (LEgal Document Assembly System) for the interactive assembly of legal documents. It guides users through the assembly process and provides (...) explanations of the interconnection between input data and claims stated in the document. The system acts as a platform for practicing drafting skills and has great potential as an education tool. It allows teachers to configure the system for the assembly of some particular type of legal document and then enables students to draft the documents by investigating which information is relevant for these documents and how the input data shape the final document. The generated legal document is complemented by a graphical representation of legal arguments expressed in the document. The system is based on existing legal standards to facilitate its introduction in the legal domain. Applicability of the system in the education of future lawyers is positively evaluated by the group of law students and their TA. (shrink)

Political discourse is primarily identified as political action, the discourse of deliberating which course of action to follow in accordance with specific political goals. A pragmatic analysis of various sub-genres of political discourse can identify the preference for particular speech acts. The first aim of this paper is to analyze commissive and expressive illocutionary acts in political speeches, as indicators of personal involvement of political speakers, notorious for vagueness and avoiding commitment. A corpus of Serbian, American and British political speeches (...) that address the issue of economic standard of living has been examined to identify commissive illocutionary acts as indicators of politicians’ explicit commitment to a chosen course of action, and expressive illocutionary acts as indicators of politicians’ explicit attitudes to their own or other politicians’ chosen practices. The analysis classifies subtypes of commissives and expressives in the corpus and identifies illocutionary force indicating devices that constitute them in English and in Serbian, after which the resulting classifications are compared and contrasted. The research results are aimed at explaining the hypothesis that a specific use/lack of commissives and expressives can be the politician’s strategy for adding credibility to their speeches, and in that way, swaying public opinion to serve the politician’s interest; conversely, establishing the relation between the use/lack of these illocutionary acts and the politician’s commitment to actions can be a method for exposing the politician’s lack of credibility and accountability. (shrink)

In this article we present a p-adic valued probabilistic logic equation image which is a complete and decidable extension of classical propositional logic. The key feature of equation image lies in ability to formally express boundaries of probability values of classical formulas in the field equation image of p-adic numbers via classical connectives and modal-like operators of the form Kr, ρ. Namely, equation image is designed in such a way that the elementary probability sentences Kr, ρα actually do have their (...) intended meaning—the probability of propositional formula α is in the equation image-ball with the center r and the radius ρ. Due to modal nature of the operators Kr, ρ, it was natural to use the probability Kripke like models as equation image-structures, provided that probability functions range over equation image instead of equation image or equation image. (shrink)

In this article we present a p-adic valued probabilistic logic equation image which is a complete and decidable extension of classical propositional logic. The key feature of equation image lies in ability to formally express boundaries of probability values of classical formulas in the field equation image of p-adic numbers via classical connectives and modal-like operators of the form Kr, ρ. Namely, equation image is designed in such a way that the elementary probability sentences Kr, ρα actually do have their (...) intended meaning—the probability of propositional formula α is in the equation image-ball with the center r and the radius ρ. Due to modal nature of the operators Kr, ρ, it was natural to use the probability Kripke like models as equation image-structures, provided that probability functions range over equation image instead of equation image or equation image. (shrink)

This paper presents a sequent calculus for the positive relevant logic with necessity and a proof that it admits the elimination of cut.

Some of the papers in this special issue distribute cognition between what is going on inside individual cognizers' heads and their outside worlds; others distribute cognition among different individual cognizers. Turing's criterion for cognition was individual, autonomous input/output capacity. It is not clear that distributed cognition could pass the Turing Test.

Let $\mathcal M=$ be a linearly ordered first-order structure and T its complete theory. We investigate conditions for T that could guarantee that $\mathcal M$ is not much more complex than some colored orders. Motivated by Rubin’s work [5], we label three conditions expressing properties of types of T and/or automorphisms of models of T. We prove several results which indicate the “geometric” simplicity of definable sets in models of theories satisfying these conditions. For example, we prove that the strongest (...) condition characterizes, up to definitional equivalence, theories of colored orders expanded by equivalence relations with convex classes. (shrink)

We offer an alternative approach to the existing methods for intuitionistic formalization of reasoning about probability. In terms of Kripke models, each possible world is equipped with a structure of the form $$\langle H, \mu \rangle $$ that needs not be a probability space. More precisely, though H needs not be a Boolean algebra, the corresponding monotone function (we call it measure) $$\mu : H \longrightarrow [0,1]_{\mathbb {Q}}$$ satisfies the following condition: if $$\alpha $$, $$\beta $$, $$\alpha \wedge \beta $$, (...) $$\alpha \vee \beta \in H$$, then $$\mu (\alpha \vee \beta ) = \mu (\alpha ) + \mu (\beta ) - \mu (\alpha \wedge \beta )$$. Since the range of $$\mu $$ is the set $$[0,1]_{\mathbb {Q}}$$ of rational numbers from the real unit interval, our logic is not compact. In order to obtain a strong complete axiomatization, we introduce an infinitary inference rule with a countable set of premises. The main technical results are the proofs of strong completeness and decidability. (shrink)

There are many possible approaches to the mind/brain problem. One of the most prominent, and perhaps the most practical, is to ignore it.

Some of the papers in this Special Issue distribute cognition between what is going on inside individual cognizers' heads and their outside worlds; others distribute cognition among different individual cognizers. Turing's criterion for cognition was for individual, autonomous input/output capacity. It is not clear that distributed cognition could pass the Turing Test.

Dalgaard's recent article [3] argues that the part of the Web that constitutes the scientific literature is composed of increasingly linked archives. He describes the move in the online communications of the scientific community towards an expanding zone of secondorder textuality, of an evolving network of texts commenting on, citing, classifying, abstracting, listing and revising other texts. In this respect, archives are becoming a network of texts rather than simply a classified collection of texts. He emphasizes the definition of hypertext (...) as multi-linear text, in contrast to the simple definition of a hypertext as 'a document with links in'. (shrink)

Many strands are woven into the ideas and work of Jeffrey Gray. From a background of classical languages and a spell in military intelligence spent honing skills in languages and typing, he took two BA degrees (in modern languages and psychology) at Oxford University. He then trained as a clinical psychologist at the Institute of Psychiatry (IOP), London, capping this with a PhD on the sources of emotional behaviour.