Symbol grounding in computational systems: A paradox of intentions
This addresses a foundational issue in philosophy of mind and AI, but it is incremental as it builds on existing debates about computationalism and symbol grounding.
The paper tackles the problem of symbol grounding in computational systems, arguing that computationalism leads to a paradox where it implies semantic nativism regardless of whether symbols are meaningful or meaningless, with no concrete numerical results provided.
The paper presents a paradoxical feature of computational systems that suggests that computationalism cannot explain symbol grounding. If the mind is a digital computer, as computationalism claims, then it can be computing either over meaningful symbols or over meaningless symbols. If it is computing over meaningful symbols its functioning presupposes the existence of meaningful symbols in the system, i.e. it implies semantic nativism. If the mind is computing over meaningless symbols, no intentional cognitive processes are available prior to symbol grounding. In this case, no symbol grounding could take place since any grounding presupposes intentional cognitive processes. So, whether computing in the mind is over meaningless or over meaningful symbols, computationalism implies semantic nativism.