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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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australasian Journal of Philosophy Vol. 85; no. 1; pp. 93 - 116
Main Author: Piccinini, Gualtiero
Format: Essay
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Mar2007
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: Computational modelling vs. Computational explanation: Is everything a Turing Machine, and does it matter to the philosophy of mind?
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        au: Piccinini, Gualtiero
        affil: University of Missouri, St Louis
      su:
        Computational intelligence
        Philosophy of mind
        Machine theory
        Cognitive science
        Computer simulation
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          Computational intelligence
          Philosophy of mind
          Machine theory
          Cognitive science
          Computer simulation
      ab: 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.
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    language: English
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