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Full Idea
Even the software/hardware distinction as it is literally applied within computer science is philosophically unclear.
Gist of Idea
The distinction between software and hardware is not clear in computing
Source
William Lycan (Consciousness [1987], 4.4)
Book Ref
Lycan,William G.: 'Consciousness' [MIT 1995], p.46
A Reaction
This is true, and very important for functionalist theories of the mind. Even very volatile software is realised in 'hard' physics, and rewritable discs etc blur the distinction between 'programmable' and 'hardwired'.
| 23225 | The soul's faculties depend on the brain, and are simply the brain's organisation [La Mettrie] |
| 3192 | Basic logic can be done by syntax, with no semantics [Gödel, by Rey] |
| 5495 | Instances of pain are physical tokens, but the nature of pain is more abstract [Putnam, by Lycan] |
| 2331 | Functionalism says robots and people are the same at one level of abstraction [Putnam] |
| 5804 | A representational theory of the mind is an externalist theory of the mind [Dretske] |
| 12632 | In the Representational view, concepts play the key linking role [Fodor] |
| 2993 | Any piece of software can always be hard-wired [Fodor] |
| 6539 | The distinction between software and hardware is not clear in computing [Lycan] |
| 5496 | Functionalism has three linked levels: physical, functional, and mental [Lycan] |