Computational modelling vs. Computational explanation: Is everything a Turing Machine, and does it matter to the philosophy of mind?

According to pancomputationalism, everything is a computing system. In this paper, I distinguish between different varieties of pancomputationalism. I find that although some varieties are more plausible than others, only the strongest variety is relevant to the philosophy of mind, but only the most...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Australasian Journal of Philosophy Vol. 85; no. 1; pp. 93 - 116
Autor principal: Piccinini, Gualtiero
Formato: Essay
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Mar2007
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:According to pancomputationalism, everything is a computing system. In this paper, I distinguish between different varieties of pancomputationalism. I find that although some varieties are more plausible than others, only the strongest variety is relevant to the philosophy of mind, but only the most trivial varieties are true. As a side effect of this exercise, I offer a clarified distinction between computational modelling and computational explanation.