This is a double post on account of the missed class, and will cover two philosophers. The first is John Searle, author of the famous Chinese Room thought experiment: Assume an English speaker has an instruction book on how to respond in Chinese characters, and is able to have a fluent conversation with a Chinese speaker without understanding it in any way. This is a clear and concise argument against computer intelligence, and makes a deal of sense, too.
Our philosopher for today, Barry C. Smith, was a connoisseur of wine, believing that the complexity of taste and the sensitivity of the palate had a good deal to do with philosophy, and exploring the complexities of a wine gave you a glimpse of the time in which it was made.
Our group discussion mostly hovered around why the guy came off as a bit of a snob, however, and I think we all disagreed with him a bit.
There will be two sets of questions today, one for Searle and one for Smith:
Searle -
F: What is the Chinese room thought experiment an analogy of? A) Polyglots B) Pocket universes C) _Artificial Intelligence_ D) Language barriers
D: Do you think computers will ever evolve the ability to comprehend?
Smith -
F: Smith's inspiration on the subject of wine originated in the Philosophical writings of: A) Aristotle B) _Plato_ C) Pyrrho D) Dionysus
D: Do you think the subject of wine philosophy has any relevance among people under 21?
I posted my comments on Smith on someones random post so here are my questions on Law.
ReplyDeleteFactual: What does Law claim to be the 2 problems with believing in Gods existence if He was an all powerful/all loving God? -Logical problem of evil, so much evil.
Discussion: Do you agree that suffering coincides with evil?
Searle:
ReplyDelete(F): How does the Chinese Room work?
(D): I think that if a person were to operate in the Chinese Room for long enough, they may come to understand what they are bringing in and putting back out. Do you think this could happen with computers or is this a fallacy in Searle's assumptions?
Smith:
(F): What does Smith say is included in their personal epiphany of wine?
(D): Do you think Smith's philosophy of wine is actually philosophy? I personally think that the revere with which he speaks of alcohol could almost show alcoholism. Just a thought.
Law:
ReplyDelete(F): What is Law's overall view on the existence of God?
(D): Do you believe in God? Did Law's interview change your belief or cause you to think more indepth about the situation?