The current essay introduces the guidance theory of representation, according to which the content and intentionality of representations can be accounted for in terms of the way they provide guidance for action. The guidance theory offers... more
The current essay introduces the guidance theory of representation, according to which the content and intentionality of representations can be accounted for in terms of the way they provide guidance for action. The guidance theory offers a way of fixing representational content that gives the causal and evolutionary history of the subject only an indirect (non-necessary) role, and an account of representational error, based on failure of action, that does not rely on any such notions as proper functions, ideal conditions, or normal circumstances. Moreover, because the notion of error is defined in terms of failure of action, the guidance theory meets the “meta-epistemological requirement” that representational error should be potentially detectable by the representing system itself. In this essay, we offer a brief account of the biological origins of representation, a formal characterization of the guidance theory, some examples of its use, and show how the guidance theory handles ...
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Recent trends in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science can be fruitfully characterized as part of the ongoing attempt to come to grips with the very idea of homo sapiens--an intelligent, evolved, biological agent--and its signature... more
Recent trends in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science can be fruitfully characterized as part of the ongoing attempt to come to grips with the very idea of homo sapiens--an intelligent, evolved, biological agent--and its signature contribution is the emergence of a philosophical anthropology which, contra Descartes and his thinking thing, instead puts doing at the center of human being. Applying this agency-oriented line of thinking to the problem of representation, this paper introduces the Guidance Theory, according to which the content and intentionality of representations can be accounted for in terms of the way they provide guidance for action. We offer a brief account of the motivation for the theory, and a formal characterization.
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The current essay introduces the guidance theory of representation, according to which the content and intentionality of representations can be accounted for in terms of the way they provide guidance for action. We offer a brief account... more
The current essay introduces the guidance theory of representation, according to which the content and intentionality of representations can be accounted for in terms of the way they provide guidance for action. We offer a brief account of the biological origins of representation, a formal characterization of the guidance theory, some examples of its use, and show how the guidance theory handles some traditional problem cases for representation: the problems of error and of representation of fictional and abstract entities.
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A new approach to machine learning is introduced that utilizes semantic information in a connectionist network. The approach is implemented in a program that learns to act appropriately in the dynamic environment of a children's game... more
A new approach to machine learning is introduced that utilizes semantic information in a connectionist network. The approach is implemented in a program that learns to act appropriately in the dynamic environment of a children's game of tag. The model is interesting in several respects including the ability to begin with no connections and then make and break them according to its experience, the ability to adjust the weights on its connections and the ability to interact with its environment.
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Here's a user-friendly guide for business people who remain mystified or frightened by computers. This book is also helpful to those who have some computer knowledge but remain unaware of the many ways in which personal computers and... more
Here's a user-friendly guide for business people who remain mystified or frightened by computers. This book is also helpful to those who have some computer knowledge but remain unaware of the many ways in which personal computers and networks can be used as valuable worksavers in the business office.
... xi of philosophers such as David Chalmers, David Griffin, Daniel Stoljar, Galen Strawson, and Michael ... Charles Siewert's (1998) The Signifi-cance of Consciousness contains an extremely detailed attempt to ... the term that... more
... xi of philosophers such as David Chalmers, David Griffin, Daniel Stoljar, Galen Strawson, and Michael ... Charles Siewert's (1998) The Signifi-cance of Consciousness contains an extremely detailed attempt to ... the term that picks out the mystery, drawing it out from its hiding place ...
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Recent trends in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science can be fruitfully characterized as part of the ongoing attempt to come to grips with the very idea of homo sapiens--an intelligent, evolved, biological agent--and its signature... more
Recent trends in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science can be fruitfully characterized as part of the ongoing attempt to come to grips with the very idea of homo sapiens--an intelligent, evolved, biological agent--and its signature contribution is the emergence of a philosophical anthropology which, contra Descartes and his thinking thing, instead puts doing at the center of human being. Applying this agency-oriented line of thinking to the problem of representation, this paper introduces the Guidance Theory, according to which ...
Research Interests:
The current essay introduces the guidance theory of representation, according to which the content and intentionality of representations can be accounted for in terms of the way they provide guidance for action. We offer a brief account... more
The current essay introduces the guidance theory of representation, according to which the content and intentionality of representations can be accounted for in terms of the way they provide guidance for action. We offer a brief account of the biological origins of representation, a formal characterization of the guidance theory, some examples of its use, and show how the guidance theory handles some traditional problem cases for representation: the problems of error and of representation of fictional and abstract entities.