Computing Machinery and Mentality

Author: McMullin B.

Source: Brain and Cognition, Volume 34, Number 1, 1997 , pp. 28-47(20)

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Abstract:

I reconsider the status of computationalism (or, in a weak sense, functionalism ): the claim that being a realization of some (as yet unspecified) class of abstract machine is both necessary and sufficient for having genuine, full-blooded, mentality. This doctrine is now quite widely (though by no means universally) seen as discredited. My position is that, though it is undoubtedly an unsatisfactory (perhaps even repugnant) thesis, the arguments against it are still rather weak. In particular, I critically reassess John Searle's infamous Chinese Room Argument and also some relevant aspects of Karl Popper's theory of the Open Universe. I conclude that the status of computationalism must still be regarded as undecided, and that it may still provide a satisfactory framework for research.

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: School of Electronic Engineering, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

Publication date: 1997-01-01