Great Ideas of Philosophy

C. Searle thinks that the missing ingredient is intentionality, the term here referring to meaning itself.VII. In the Upanishads, the disciple sitting “next to the teacher” (upanishad) in the Forest of Wisdom is asked,“When the sun is down, by what means do you see?” He answers, “by the moon.”A. And when the moon is dark? By a candle’s light. And when the candle is out? Then the only remaininglight is within, known but unseen, working toward the truth by means never found in the external world offlesh, blood, and dead matter.B. Alan Turing lived much of his life in the Forest of Wisdom, searching by his own inner light. LikePythagoras, he sought in a realm of symbols not instantiated by any physical beings but only in relations.C. In part because of his search, our humanity now is understood not in biological terms but in informationalterms, as a set of computational operations.Recommended Reading:Turing, A. “Computing Machinery and Intelligence.” Mind, 1950, vol. 59, pp. 433–460.Hodges, A. Alan Turing: The Enigma of Intelligence. New York, 1983.Questions to Consider:1. Conclude whether “intelligent” machines should have rights.2. Explain whether the only difference between the “intelligent machine” and the person is to be found at the levelof feelings.4©2004 The Teaching Company Limited Partnership