Semiotic Systems, Computers, and the Mind

Abstract

<jats:p>In this reply to James H. Fetzer’s “Minds and Machines: Limits to Simulations of Thought and Action”, the author argues that computationalism should not be the view that (human) cognition is computation, but that it should be the view that cognition (simpliciter) is computable. It follows that computationalism can be true even if (human) cognition is not the result of computations in the brain. The author also argues that, if semiotic systems are systems that interpret signs, then both humans and computers are semiotic systems. Finally, the author suggests that minds can be considered as virtual machines implemented in certain semiotic systems, primarily the brain, but also AI computers. In doing so, the author takes issue with Fetzer’s arguments to the contrary.</jats:p>

The Human Affectome

“…While they are but a tangle among all the tightly interconnected dynamic processes of a human neurobiological system, we can carve up any set of those processes. When isolated, these processes can be described as algorithms, sequences of steps articulable in words, equations, or code that are executed for specific goals or to solve particular computational problems ( Suppes, 1969 ; Cartwright, 1983 ; Marr, 2010 ; Pylyshyn, 1986 ; Rapaport, 2012 ; Vardi, 2012 ; Hill, 2016 ; Dennett, 2002 ; Chalmers, 2012 ; Egan, 2017 , 2020 ). For our purposes, the processes we are most interested in are grounded by the teleological principle above, so that we can identify types of problems among affective phenomena and articulate how affective mechanisms attempt to solve them.…”

What an Algorithm Is

“…Common elements include deterministic or effective rules or procedures, and computation on inputs to produce outputs. Rapaport (2012) gives a good overview (in his Appendix, entitled "What is an Algorithm?") of several foundational definitions in a treatment that invites broader consideration.…”

The Human Affectome

“…Formalism, computation, and algorithm are ripe tools for crossing theories, frameworks, and disciplines (Cartwright, 1983;Suppes, 1962). While formalism and computation involve describing a phenomenon in mathematical equations and programming code, respectively, algorithm refers to the sequence or structure of abstract entities aimed at a particular goal or purpose (Hill, 2016;Marr, 1982;Rapaport, 2012;Vardi, 2012). Given that we take algorithm here to mean the abstract configuration of affairs, an algorithm can be referred to and described in several ways, including mathematical equations, code, and propositional statements.…”

“…Grounding the definition of mood in an explicit account is just one case in which affective mechanism can be clarified by mathematics and code: where the analysis of collected data can be abstracted into mathematical symbols that are calculable and programmable-ultimately, for rendering one interpretation of allostatic significance (Hill, 2016;Marr, 1982;Rapaport, 2012;Vardi, 2012). These tools, paired with semantic framing, can help us clarify what affective constructs might be.…”