Multiple-Computations Theorem and the Physics of Singling Out a Computation.

The problem of multiple-computations discovered by Hilary Putnam presents a deep difficulty for functionalism (of all sorts, computational and causal). We describe in outline why Putnam's result, and likewise the more restricted result we call the Multiple-Computations Theorem, are in fact theorems...

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Publicado en:Monist Vol. 105; no. 2; pp. 175 - 194
Autores principales: Hemmo, Meir, Shenker, Orly
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Apr2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Multiple-Computations Theorem and the Physics of Singling Out a Computation.
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        au:
          Hemmo, Meir
          Shenker, Orly
        affil:
          Philosophy Department, University of Haifa , Haifa 3498838, Israel
          Philosophy Department, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Jerusalem 91905, Israel
      su:
        Putnam, Hilary, 1926-2016
        Quantum theory
        Quantum measurement
        Statistical mechanics
        Computer systems
        Quantum mechanics
      sug:
        subj:
          Putnam, Hilary, 1926-2016
          Quantum theory
          Quantum measurement
          Statistical mechanics
          Computer systems
          Quantum mechanics
      ab: The problem of multiple-computations discovered by Hilary Putnam presents a deep difficulty for functionalism (of all sorts, computational and causal). We describe in outline why Putnam's result, and likewise the more restricted result we call the Multiple-Computations Theorem, are in fact theorems of statistical mechanics. We show why the mere interaction of a computing system with its environment cannot single out a computation as the preferred one amongst the many computations implemented by the system. We explain why nonreductive approaches to solving the multiple-computations problem, and in particular why computational externalism, are dualistic in the sense that they imply that nonphysical facts in the environment of a computing system single out the computation. We discuss certain attempts to dissolve Putnam's unrestricted result by appealing to systems with certain kinds of input and output states as a special case of computational externalism, and show why this approach is not workable without collapsing to behaviorism. We conclude with some remarks about the nonphysical nature of mainstream approaches to both statistical mechanics and the quantum theory of measurement with respect to the singling out of partitions and observables.
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