What is a digital state?

Onderzoeksoutput: Hoofdstuk in Boek/Rapport/CongresprocedureConferentiebijdrageAcademicpeer review

Samenvatting

There is much discussion about whether the human mind is a computer, whether the human brain could be emulated on a computer, and whether at all physical entities are computers (pancomputationalism). These discussions, and others, require criteria for what is digital. 1 I propose that a state is digital if and only if it is a token of a type that serves a particular function - typically a representational function for the system. This proposal is made on a syntactic level, assuming three levels of description (physical, syntactic, semantic). It suggests that being digital is a matter of discovery or rather a matter of how we wish to describe the world, if a functional description can be assumed. Given the criterion provided and the necessary empirical research, we should be in a position to decide on a given system (e.g. the human brain) whether it is a digital system and can thus be reproduced in a different digital system (since digital systems allow multiple realization).

Originele taal-2Engels
Titel6th AISB Symposium on Computing and Philosophy
SubtitelThe Scandal of Computation - What is Computation? - AISB Convention 2013
Pagina's11-16
Aantal pagina's6
StatusGepubliceerd - 1 dec. 2013
Extern gepubliceerdJa
Evenement6th AISB Symposium on Computing and Philosophy: The Scandal of Computation - What is Computation?, Held at the AISB Convention 2013 - Exeter, Verenigd Koninkrijk
Duur: 3 apr. 20135 apr. 2013

Congres

Congres6th AISB Symposium on Computing and Philosophy: The Scandal of Computation - What is Computation?, Held at the AISB Convention 2013
Land/RegioVerenigd Koninkrijk
StadExeter
Periode3/04/135/04/13

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