Computational Theory of Mind

The mind is a lot like a computer - but what if this metaphor was more than just a metaphor? According to the philosopher Andy Clark, human minds aren't just like computers, human minds are computers! In this video, we'll get into the consequences of this seemingly radical framework and what it means for cognitive science as a whole.
0:00 - Intro
1:09 - The conceivability argument
2:17 - Behaviorism revisited
5:14 - Identity theory
7:54 - Functionalism revisited
8:56 - Computational theory of mind
12:09 - Formal systems
13:26 - Games
15:20 - Language
17:19 - Wrapping up
18:55 - Key concepts
Sources:
Clark (2000). Mindware: An introduction to the philosophy of cognitive science. Chapter 1: Meat Machines. psycnet.apa.org/record/2001-1...
Smart (2017). The mind/brain identity theory. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. plato.stanford.edu/archives/s...
Bickle (2020). Multiple realizability. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. plato.stanford.edu/archives/s...

[@kyle5635]

I learned more from this 20 minute video than I did from my cog sci professor ALL semester. Thank you so much! I'm so grateful to have found this video.

[@RYANRHODES-cogsci]

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@jamesbarlow6423]

It's all bullshit. The mind=computer thing is debunked daily.

[@juliannamatteis8538]

Same!! Thank you so much for your videos! My instructor was going on and on about Turning before even talking about what representations of mind were!!

[@luciawolaniuk6116]

Great video! I'm a Philosophy student thinking about persuing a master's degree in Cognitive Science and your content has been so illuminating!

[@RYANRHODES-cogsci]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@jamesbarlow6423]

It's all bullshit. The mind=computer thing is debunked daily.

[@UserName-ii1ce]

Nice channel dude keep pumping out content, you'll get big. You could be the crash course of cognitive science

[@RamblingsOfAHumbleBiochemist]

This was amazing! Appreciate your efforts highly.

[@jamesbarlow6423]

Spencer: "Society is like an organism." Fruitful analogy UP TO A POINT. What if from this basis he'd concluded "Society is like an organism, therefore 'society IS just an organism'. Therefore organisms are just, literally, nothing but societies"(!) That's the level of childish logic being deployed here.

[@user-iw4op1ul9p]

Well explained! I was looking for introductory content on the CTM and this seems to have helped a lot. Keep up the work!

[@RYANRHODES-cogsci]

Thanks! I have more lectures incoming...

[@holdforth724]

Maybe consciousnesses can only be formed by biological entities, even AI is still reliant on computer instructions as it's uncapable of free thought and free will, by comparing the brain to a computer we are assuming that a computer and consciousness or mind are the same thing. A consciousness is a mechanism for survival whereas a computer is a mechanism for convenience.

[@user-iw4op1ul9p]

I think it may be safe for now to settle on the fact that we do not completely understand the mechanisms underlying consciousness, which is perhaps the reason why drawing analogies with computers (something we do understand, considerably well) helps formulate workable models of mental processes. CTM takes a step further by suggesting that consciousness is in itself a product of computation which does not get along well with the supposition that consciousness evolved as a survival mechanism, which is again a refuted claim (check 'philosophical zombie'). However, the question asked here (is consciousness restricted to biological entities?) is still relevant and requires much scrutiny through the lens of both computational and biological perspectives.

[@TranshumanistBCI]

@@RYANRHODES-cogsci Could not be any less excited. Had I not been a student I would definitely be your patreon. The great work your are doing via this is immense.

[@jamesbarlow6423]

It's all bullshit. The mind=computer thing is debunked daily.

[@TheMindIlluminated]

Keep in mind, fellow commenters who read this, that this is just one belief out of several within philosophy of mind. It’s not a hard fact. Obviously this position is the most prevalent within neuroscience and cognitive science.

[@jamesbarlow6423]

It isn't even that. It's all bullshit. The mind=computer thing is debunked daily.

[@janoellig3396]

Well if you look at the competition and at the competitors, their critiques don’t have much force (especially searle), and their own theories have little use (for instance phenomenology)

[@iker852]

Thank you for these videos! I'm a linguistics student and I feel really interested on Cognitive Science :) Your videos are really helpful.

[@RYANRHODES-cogsci]

Awesome, glad you find them helpful!

[@senatorpoopypants7182]

This is really well done, super informative maybe the guy can have less pauses when he talks and I don't see why this can't have a million views

[@RYANRHODES-cogsci]

Haha, thanks. I need to work on my editing skills!

[@harshadwakade6577]

Well Hindus of india says , computational theory is wrong.

[@v.voveraite]

I really liked the pauses! Gives me time to process what was said - if you jumped into the next sentence right away I'd be confused and pausing the video

[@jamesbarlow6423]

@@RYANRHODES-cogsci . Thinking skills i'd say lol

[@jamesbarlow6423]

It's all bullshit. The mind=computer thing is debunked daily.

[@marlehanmohamed1815]

Excellent

[@RYANRHODES-cogsci]

Thanks!

[@jamesbarlow6423]

B.s. It's all bullshit. The mind=computer thing is debunked daily.

[@jamesbarlow6423]

Language is not "a formal system"

[@dissturbbed]

We first need to figure out how a paramecium can learn or react to its environment

[@jamesbarlow6423]

(shshsh!....that's a different comic book.)

[@EncodeUnknown]

❤

[@liefdeleven639]

How we dream is a 3D render engine, borrowed from our 3D vision source code.

[@OrbitTheSun]

And the 3D vision source code is also a 3D render engine.

[@jamesbarlow6423]

It's all bullshit. The mind=computer thing is debunked daily.

[@jamesbarlow6423]

Imagining and conceiving aren't the same thing, yoyo.

[@EncodeUnknown]

Computers cannot rewire themselves nor regenerate any physical damage. They don't have regeneration capacity.

[@Arch009]

that is true, but you must understand the "essence" of what he is trying to get at! These silicon-based "computers" are actually an illustration of what computers should be like by another more sophisticated meat computer!

[@jamesbarlow6423]

"Conceivability doesn't entail possibility" Actually, it does. Too dogmatic---(American, ryt?🤣!) Lol.

[@jamesbarlow6423]

Lol. It's only a metaphor, kid! Dream on!