[FRIAM] Dennett on agency

[thompnickson2 at gmail.com]

Russ, 

 

I have not had time to follow this thread, but just want to remind you what my first response to your question would be.  Intentions are not the sorts of thing we “have”.  They are things that we do.  They are of a higher order than knee jerks, or even apple bites,  but they are patterns in behavior all the same. 

 

I have busy because I signed up to do all sorts of things in September because I had nothing to do, and to my horror and surprise, every thing I signed up for, bore fruit and now I am overwhelmed.   I have a prejudice against Dennett.  I think he worries too much about his standing with the Big Kids at Harvard and trying NOT to violate vernacular ways of thinking so much as to dent his royalties.   And I am jealous of him.  

 

So there.  

 

Hope you are well

 

Nick 

 

Nicholas Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Ethology and Psychology

Clark University

 <mailto:ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com> ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com

 <https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/> https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/

 

 

From: Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> On Behalf Of Russ Abbott
Sent: Tuesday, October 20, 2020 12:07 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam at redfish.com>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Dennett on agency

 

Not sure what the point is. Larger systems can exploit information and "pick of scars." Cells in that sense are larger systems. I'm confused about what that is supposed to add to the discussion.

 

Computer programs can certainly be described using intentional language. Does that mean that a computer program can have intention? If so, that seems to degrade the notion of intent. 

 

-- Russ Abbott                                       
Professor, Computer Science
California State University, Los Angeles

 

 

On Tue, Oct 20, 2020 at 9:23 AM jon zingale <jonzingale at gmail.com <mailto:jonzingale at gmail.com> > wrote:

... and why tornados fail to have it. A key feature appears to be that agents
have a history that makes a difference, can exploit information the way a
thermostat can. Electrons or molecular motors, for instance, don't pick up
scratches or scars. Sean Carroll adds that agents participate in the arrow
of time.

Queued up to the relevant part of the discussion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yZw4wxvnVQ <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yZw4wxvnVQ&ab_channel=SeanCarroll&t=1670s> &ab_channel=SeanCarroll&t=1670s



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