"The dominant alternative to the Cartesian perspective is exemplified by the theoretical claim that the mind is like the sort of 'computation' that takes place in electronic computers. In simpler terms, minds are software (programs) run on the hardware (neural circuits) of the brain."
— Deacon, Terrence W.
Author
Place of Publication
New York
Publisher
W.W. Norton & Company
Date
1997
Metaphor
"The dominant alternative to the Cartesian perspective is exemplified by the theoretical claim that the mind is like the sort of 'computation' that takes place in electronic computers. In simpler terms, minds are software (programs) run on the hardware (neural circuits) of the brain."
Metaphor in Context
The dominant alternative to the Cartesian perspective is exemplified by the theoretical claim that the mind is like the sort of “computation” that takes place in electronic computers. In simpler terms, minds are software (programs) run on the hardware (neural circuits) of the brain. The strong version of this materialistic reductionism (i.e., that mind is nothing more than mechanism) has recently been given its clearest expression in a theory called "eliminative materialism." The claim is that notions such as mind, intention, belief, thought, representation, and so on will eventually be eliminated in discussions of cognitive processes in favor of more mechanistic synonyms that refer to chemical-electrical signaling processes of the brain. Mentalistic terms, it is suggested, are mere glosses for more complex brain processes that we at present do not understand.
Provenance
Contributed by Suzanne Morgen, searching Google Books.
Citation
Deacon, Terrence William. The Symbolic Species: the Co-evolution of Language and the Brain. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998, p. 442.
Date of Entry
12/03/2009
Date of Review
06/16/2010
