Going back to Hume's idea that one can only learn from experience, it is interesting to consider some questions related to this topic. If one is to order an amazing cheeseburger made with Kobe beef and topped with gruyere cheese and heirloom tomatoes, then delicately set upon a freshly made roll, still hot from the oven, and taste this delicious burger, can that experience be related to someone (or Watson) and its delicious nature ever truly be known by the person (or thing) without ever really experiencing it? Hume would argue that one can't. Even if someone knew every single detail about this burger, the person would never have tasted it and thus there would be some knowledge lacking. That is, the knowledge would not be complete. This is where the human part comes in. The explanation of the details of this burger would mean nothing if the person hadn't indeed tasted it. That being said, as the burger's details were passed along to different individuals, even more of its true nature would be lost.
Plato's "Apology: In Defense of Socrates" is a sobering piece of writing as one of Plato's main themes is about man's wisdom and his erroneous belief that he does, in fact, possess wisdom. Even if man did possess great wisdom, Plato writes that it doesn't matter much in the course of the world. In "Apology," Socrates says that it was the oracle that said he was the wisest person in the world, but as it turns out, the oracle was just saying that he was like a wise person because he was able to see that he wasn't wise at all. Essentially, Plato's belief in this story of Socrates' apology is that when someone is touted as being incredibly wise, it usually means that he (or she) isn't, but rather, it is the people who are not considered wise at all that are usually the wiser....
This is only using the mind as a metaphor for intelligence, however, which would again be a problem for James and would also be a problem from an ontological perspective. In order to consider whether or not Watson has a mind, and indeed whether or not any computer could ever have a mind, a consideration of Gilbert Ryle's thoughts concerning the nature of the mind is very much needed.
It seems clear that Watson does not recognize itself as an individual or independent consciousness: it does not have spontaneous thoughts or draw original conclusions, but rather responds only to direct stimulus in the form of questions posed. There is no creative spark embedded in Watson's programming that allows for the self-reflection that Watson is "thinking," and thus the computer -- sophisticated as it is and despite its skill
As experiments became more complex, however, especially noting embryonic development, scientists found that the process that occurs in vitro parallels the evolutionary process of nerve system complexity, and then becomes more qualitative in that not every aspect of thought can be explained by a simple combination of neurotransmitters (neuron coded molecules) or electrical events. While it is true that the electrical even between two cells allows for communication, the subtle
In "Piaf," Pam Gems provides a view into the life of the great French singer and arguably the greatest singer of her generation -- Edith Piaf. (Fildier and Primack, 1981), the slices that the playwright provides, more than adequately trace her life. Edith was born a waif on the streets of Paris (literally under a lamp-post). Abandoned by her parents -- a drunken street singer for a mother and a
Dualism." It discusses the basic idea of the term dualism and why it is rejected by science. What is Dualism? Dualism is the metaphysical principle that there are two substances, i.e., distinctive and autonomous kinds of being, one material and the other spiritual. Material substance is defined as physical and is declared to be the fundamental certainty of the empirical world, i.e., the world we see, hear, etc., and measure with
Mindful vs. traditional martial arts toward improved academic grades in children diagnosed with ADHD While medication and psychotherapy are the current best practice in treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), their benefits and aim are too peripheral and topical -- neither resolving the neurological origin of deficits. Moreover, many are opposed to these treatments and there are few substantiated and readily accepted alternatives. The consequences of ADHD have a ripple effect --
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