[FRIAM] [EXT] Re: cognition all the way down
John Kennison
JKennison at clarku.edu
Sat Oct 17 18:00:50 EDT 2020
Hi Nick,
I read (once over lightly) the piece by Levin and Dennett called "Cognition All the Way Down". It intrigues me but I also find myself saying "Yeah sure". Can we really say anything about the goals of microorganisms just by allowing ourselves the luxury of using language that would normally be reserved for objects that we believe are 'conscious' in some sense. This is the language that evolved as a convenient way of describing motives etc of the humans we encounter. Is that necessarily the best analytic language for examining what motive is? Or is it a language that is inherently based on dualism and therefore totally inappropriate for discussing the type of advances that the "Cognition All the Way Down" piece envisions?
If we find that having any kind of discussion of motive will inevitably get tangled up in inherently dualistic language, we need a different approach.
Here is a concrete proposal: Can we build a machine that functions effectively but can have a nervous breakdown? Maybe you, I and Jon could work on this.
--John
________________________________
From: Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> on behalf of thompnickson2 at gmail.com <thompnickson2 at gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 17, 2020 5:03 PM
To: 'The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group' <friam at redfish.com>
Subject: [EXT] Re: [FRIAM] cognition all the way down
Bah Dennett. One of these days he is going to FINALLY read Peirce and realize that his entire career has been a footnote. What a bounder!
Yeah. I’m envious.
Nick
Nicholas Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Ethology and Psychology
Clark University
ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com<mailto:ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com>
https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/
From: Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> On Behalf Of Roger Critchlow
Sent: Saturday, October 17, 2020 2:39 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <Friam at redfish.com>
Subject: [FRIAM] cognition all the way down
https://aeon.co/essays/how-to-understand-cells-tissues-and-organisms-as-agents-with-agendas<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faeon.co%2Fessays%2Fhow-to-understand-cells-tissues-and-organisms-as-agents-with-agendas&data=04%7C01%7Cjkennison%40clarku.edu%7Ce8a2c9b5cfd441ef369d08d872e01ed1%7Cb5b2263d68aa453eb972aa1421410f80%7C1%7C0%7C637385654197844016%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=EUf%2FYXf6Ih4DvnkYFj4%2BTSQx8J0%2FVz7MIQ%2FfT54KaSA%3D&reserved=0>
by Michael Levin and Daniel Dennett
via hackernews
-- rec --
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