Human agents draw a variety of inferences effortlessly, spontaneously, and with remarkable efficiency – as though these inferences were a reflexive response of their cognitive apparatus. Furthermore, these inferences are drawn with reference to a large body of background knowledge. This remarkable human ability seems paradoxical given the complexity of reasoning reported by researchers in artificial intelligence. It also poses a challenge for cognitive science and computational neuroscience: How can a system of simple and slow neuronlike elements represent a large (...) body of systemic knowledge and perform a range of inferences with such speed? We describe a computational model that takes a step toward addressing the cognitive science challenge and resolving the artificial intelligence paradox. We show how a connectionist network can encode millions of facts and rules involving n-ary predicates and variables and perform a class of inferences in a few hundred milliseconds. Efficient reasoning requires the rapid representation and propagation of dynamic bindings. Our model (which we refer to as SHRUTI) achieves this by representing (1) dynamic bindings as the synchronous firing of appropriate nodes, (2) rules as interconnection patterns that direct the propagation of rhythmic activity, and (3) long-term facts as temporal pattern-matching subnetworks. The model is consistent with recent neurophysiological evidence that synchronous activity occurs in the brain and may play a representational role in neural information processing. The model also makes specific psychologically significant predictions about the nature of reflexive reasoning. It identifies constraints on the form of rules that may participate in such reasoning and relates the capacity of the working memory underlying reflexive reasoning to biological parameters such as the lowest frequency at which nodes can sustain synchronous oscillations and the coarseness of synchronization. (shrink)

Contributed seminar papers presented at Seminar on the subject of Siddhantavada, organized by Department of Nyayavaisheshika, Shri Lalbahadur Shastri Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, New Delhi in 2016.

Language and languages; linguistics; Arabic language; sufism.

The Objective Of This Highly Rewarding Book Indian Philosophy Of Knowledge Is To Highlight The Main Purpose Of Gaining Knowledge. The Highest Knowledge In Vedas And Upanisads Is The Knowledge Of Brahman Which Leads To Liberation. The Sankhya System Promises Complete Cessation Of All Sorrows. The Yoga Is Entirely Devoted To The Attainment Of Kaivalya. Gautama, In His Nyayasutra Asserts That Their Knowledge Would Lead To The Attainment Of The Liberation. The Vaisesika And Mimamsa Begins With The Interpretation Of Dharma (...) As The Means For Attainment Of The Worldly As Well As Transcendental Well-Being. The Buddhists Aim Of Knowledge Is To Remove Passions And To Show The Path Of Nirvana. The Removal Of Karmic Matter Is The Main Theme Of Knowledge In Jaina Philosophy. (shrink)

Study of Tattvacintāmaṇididhiti of Raghunātha Śiromaṇi, commentary on Pakṣatā, portion of Tattvacintāmaṇi of Gaṅgeśa, dealing with the essential nature of proposition (pakṣatā), of Navya Nyāya school in Hindu philosophy.

Although the connectionist approach has lead to elegant solutions to a number of problems in cognitive science and artificial intelligence, its suitability for dealing with problems in knowledge representation and inference has often been questioned. This paper partly answers this criticism by demonstrating that effective solutions to certain problems in knowledge representation and limited inference can be found by adopting a connectionist approach. The paper presents a connectionist realization of semantic networks, that is, it describes how knowledge about concepts, their (...) properties, and the hierarchical relationship between them may be encoded as an interpreter‐free massively parallel network of simple processing elements that can solve an interesting class of inheritance and recognition problems extremely fast—in time proportional to the depth of the conceptual hierarchy. The connectionist realization is based on an evidential formulation that leads to principled solutions to the problems of exceptions and conflicting multiple inheritance situations during inheritance, and the best‐match or partial‐match computation during recognition. The paper also identifies constraints that must be satisfied by the conceptual structure in order to arrive at an efficient parallel realization. (shrink)

Festschrift in honor of Damodhar Mahapatra Shastri, 1890-1975, Sanskritist; comprises research articles on Vedic literature, religion, and Sanskrit grammar.

Volume 1. Muqaddimāt fī al-tazkiyah -- volume 2. Tazkiyat al-ʻaql wa-al-fikr -- volume 3. Tazkiyat al-jasad -- volume 4, part 1-2. al-Akhlāq wa-al-ādāb -- volume 5. Tazkiyat al-qalb --.

Analytical study of the concept of creation and perception in Vedāntasiddhāntamuktāvalī, treatise on Hindu Advaita (non-dualistic) Vedanta philosophy by Prakāśānanda, 16th cent.