Re: No More Searle Please

From: Robin Lee Powell (rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org)
Date: Thu Jan 19 2006 - 15:04:22 MST


On Thu, Jan 19, 2006 at 04:40:38PM -0500, Woody Long wrote:
> Good fucking god.
> >
> > Searle's an asshat who apparently believes that because our neurons
> > don't understand Chinese, we're not concious. Can we *please* stop
> > talking about him?
> >
> > -Robin
>
>
> Nowhere in the Searle Argument did he assert "People are not conscious."
>
>
> Nowhere in the Searle Argument did he assert that "Neurons don't understand
> Chinese."
>
>
> Nowhere in the Searle Argument did he argue -
>
> 1. Neurons don't understand Chinese.
> 2. If neurons don't understand Chinese, then people are not conscious.
> ergo
> 3. People are not conscious.
>
>
> Therefore,
> Your belief is not correct.

It's called a metaphor.

neuron == components of a system that understands chinese, i.e.
each of the books and the human in the room are all neurons

If neurons don't understand Chinese, then people are not conscious.
== if nothing in the chinese room understands chinese, then nothing
in the room is concious

-Robin

-- 
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