Minds and Machines 19 (4):529-541 (2009)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
The paper presents a paradoxical feature of computational systems that suggests that computationalism cannot explain symbol grounding. If the mind is a digital computer, as computationalism claims, then it can be computing either over meaningful symbols or over meaningless symbols. If it is computing over meaningful symbols its functioning presupposes the existence of meaningful symbols in the system, i.e. it implies semantic nativism. If the mind is computing over meaningless symbols, no intentional cognitive processes are available prior to symbol grounding. In this case, no symbol grounding could take place since any grounding presupposes intentional cognitive processes. So, whether computing in the mind is over meaningless or over meaningful symbols, computationalism implies semantic nativism.
|
Keywords | symbol grounding Fodor computationalism computing nativism Putnam syntactic computation |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1007/s11023-009-9175-1 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory.David J. Chalmers - 1996 - Oxford University Press.
View all 59 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
What is Morphological Computation? On How the Body Contributes to Cognition and Control.Vincent C. Müller & Matej Hoffmann - 2017 - Artificial Life 23 (1):1-24.
Which Symbol Grounding Problem Should We Try to Solve?Vincent C. Müller - 2015 - Journal of Experimental & Theoretical Artificial Intelligence 27 (1):73-78.
Interaction and Resistance: The Recognition of Intentions in New Human-Computer Interaction.Vincent C. Müller - 2011 - In Anna Esposito, Antonietta M. Esposito, Raffaele Martone, Vincent C. Müller & Gaetano Scarpetta (eds.), Towards autonomous, adaptive, and context-aware multimodal interfaces: Theoretical and practical issues. Springer. pp. 1-7.
Similar books and articles
Symbol Grounding and the Origin of Language.Stevan Harnad - 2002 - In Matthias Scheutz (ed.), Computationalism: New Directions. MIT Press.
Grounding Symbols in Sensorimotor Categories with Neural Networks.Stevan Harnad - 1995 - Institute of Electrical Engineers Colloquium on "Grounding Representations.
Connecting Object to Symbol in Modeling Cognition.Stevan Harnad - 1992 - In A. Clark & Ronald Lutz (eds.), Connectionism in Context. Springer Verlag. pp. 75--90.
Symbol Grounding is an Empirical Problem: Neural Nets Are Just a Candidate Component.Stevan Harnad - 1993
Feature Learning, Multiresolution Analysis, and Symbol Grounding.Karl F. MacDorman - 1998 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 21 (1):32-33.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2009-12-09
Total views
578 ( #14,187 of 2,498,851 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
29 ( #30,252 of 2,498,851 )
2009-12-09
Total views
578 ( #14,187 of 2,498,851 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
29 ( #30,252 of 2,498,851 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads