Toward a general theory of representations

In D. M. Peterson (ed.), Forms of representation: an interdisciplinary theme for Cognitive Science. Exeter: Intellect Books. pp. 118-140 (1994)
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Abstract

This position paper presents the beginnings of a general theory of representations starting from the notion that an intelligent agent is essentially a control system with multiple control states, many of which contain information (both factual and non-factual), albeit not necessarily in a propositional form. The paper attempts to give a general characterisation of the notion of the syntax of an information store, in terms of types of variation the relevant mechanisms can cope with. Similarly concepts of semantics pragmatics and inference are generalised to apply to information-bearing sub-states in control systems. A number of common but incorrect notions about representation are criticised (such as that pictures are in some way isomorphic with what they represent).

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Aaron Sloman
University of Birmingham

References found in this work

Vision.David Marr - 1982 - W. H. Freeman.
The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception.Marc H. Bornstein - 1980 - Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 39 (2):203-206.
Some philosophical problems from the standpoint of artificial intelligence.John McCarthy & Patrick Hayes - 1969 - In B. Meltzer & Donald Michie (eds.), Machine Intelligence 4. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 463--502.

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