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Single Idea 4927

[filed under theme 18. Thought / B. Mechanics of Thought / 4. Language of Thought ]

Full Idea

So-called information-processing views of the brain have been criticized because they typically assume the existence in the world of previously defined information, and often assume the existence of precise neural codes for which there is no evidence.

Gist of Idea

Information-processing views of the brain assume the existence of 'information', and dubious brain codes

Source

G Edelman / G Tononi (Consciousness: matter becomes imagination [2000], Ch.11)

Book Ref

Edelman,G/Tononi,G: 'Consciousness: how matter becomes imagination' [Penguin 2000], p.126

A Reaction

Fodor is the target here. Searle is keen that 'intrinsic intentionality' is required to see something as 'information'. It is hard to see how anything acquires significance as it flows through a mechanical process.

The 19 ideas with the same theme [brains have an in-built private language ('Mentalese')]:

2605 If everything uses mentalese, ALL concepts must be innate! [Putnam]
2606 No machine language can express generalisations [Putnam]
3086 Are there any meanings apart from in a language? [Harman]
3996 Folk psychology doesn't say that there is a language of thought [Lewis]
2524 A language of thought doesn't explain content [Dennett]
4874 The predecessor and rival of the language of thought hypothesis is the picture theory of ideas [Dennett]
2480 Language is ambiguous, but thought isn't [Fodor]
2487 Mentalese may also incorporate some natural language [Fodor]
2483 Mentalese doesn't require a theory of meaning [Fodor]
8090 Since the language of thought is the same for all, it must be something like logical form [Fodor, by Devlin]
12643 Ambiguities in English are the classic reason for claiming that we don't think in English [Fodor]
2604 We must have expressive power BEFORE we learn language [Fodor]
3010 Belief and desire are structured states, which need mentalese [Fodor]
3213 Animals may also use a language of thought [Rey]
3170 We train children in truth, not in grammar [Rey]
7715 Mentalese isn't a language, because it isn't conventional, or a means of public communication [Lowe]
4927 Information-processing views of the brain assume the existence of 'information', and dubious brain codes [Edelman/Tononi]
11121 Language of thought has subject/predicate form and includes logical devices [Margolis/Laurence]
17767 The alternative to a language of thought is map-like or diagram-like thought [Bayne]