Searle J

When1:  1969

When2:  1997

Who:    John R. Searle [Searle, John R.]

What:   philosopher

Where:  USA

works\  Speech Acts [1969]; Minds, Brains, and Programs [1980]; Intentionality [1983]; Minds, Brains, and Science [1984]; Rediscovery of the Mind [1992]; Mystery of Consciousness [1997]; Mind: A Brief Introduction [2004]

Detail: He lived 1932 to ?.

Epistemology

People's minds have intentions, which make meaning and language. Speech acts are rule-governed behavior, with roles and laws. There is strong AI and weak AI. After receiving grammatical string of Chinese characters as input, people who do not know Chinese language can use algorithm or lookup table to send grammatical and meaningful string of Chinese characters as output {Chinese Room example}. System of man and lookup table can pass Turing test but does not have real understanding of Chinese. Symbols and grammar must relate to representation to have meaning {symbol grounding problem}.

However, people must be able to perform such complex algorithms, using many underlying brain skills, including learning and memory. People must recognize Chinese characters in strings, put such characters in series, and follow many-ruled algorithm. To use algorithm, people must know language. Recognizing patterns is an algorithm part and means one knows symbols and representation. Perhaps, whole system understands because it must be complex and integrate many subprocesses, so understanding emerges. Perhaps, it needs causal relations to outside world. Perhaps, it needs brain-simulation program.

Mind

Neurological activity causes all mental phenomena {biological naturalism}. Mental phenomena and conscious states emerge from neurons and their processes. Minds have subjective essence. Sense qualities are elements of a field {total conscious field} that unifies conscious experience.

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Date Modified: 2022.0224