Abstract
Fuzzy theorizing has included references to human behavior in general, and to reasoning in particular, almost from its inception. Experience is fuzzy. The strong connections between fuzzy logic and control theory take over, however, when we rely on the machine as a conceptual blueprint, effectively leaving out what makes human behavior unique. Failure to make the proper distinctions is tantamount to letting the available technical means determine our conception of the subject matter instead of the other way around. We will concentrate on the empirical status of the words, perceptions, and rules on which reasoning builds. Language and perception are forms of activity and thus functionally related to the sets of base variables in the absence of which there would be no behavior to speak of. Simulation itself would be a flight of fancy. The fact that claims about the relevance of fuzzy thinking to human behavior continue to be supported through reference to spectacular achievements in engineering clearly calls for reflection.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Belohlavek, R., Klir, G.J. (eds.): Concepts and Fuzzy Logic. MIT Press, Cambridge (2011)
de Saussure, F.: Cours de linguistique générale. Payot, Paris (1916)
Guttman, N., Kalish, H.: Experiments in discrimination. Sci. Am. (1958)
Julià, P.: Anticipatory systems via anticipatory behavior. In: Dubois, D. (ed.) Computing Anticipatory Systems. American Institute of Physics (2009)
Julià, P.: On Norbert Wiener on language. In: Dubois, D. (ed.) Computing Anticipatory Systems. American Institute of Physics (1999)
Julià, P.: Explanatory Models in Linguistics: A Behavioral Perspective. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1983)
Julià, P.: Contingencies, rules and the ‘problem’ of novel behavior. Behav. Brain Sci. 7, 598–599 (1984)
Julià, P.: Observer or self-observer in second-order cybernetics? Kybernetes 29(5/6), 770–786 (2000)
Kantor, J.R.: An Objective Psychology of Grammar. Indiana University Press, Bloomington (1936)
Kantor, J.R.: The Aim and Progress of Psychology and Other Sciences. Principia Press, Chicago (1971)
Kantor, J.R.: Psychological Linguistics. Principia Press, Chicago (1977)
Kelso, J.A.S.: Dynamic Patterns. MIT Press, Cambridge (1995)
Klir, G.J., Yuan, B.: Fuzzy Sets and Fuzzy Logic. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River (1995)
Kosko, B.: Fuzzy Thinking. Flamingo, London (1994)
Lakoff, G.: Don’t Think of an Elephant. Chelsea Green, New York (2004)
Mamdani, E.H.: Application of fuzzy logic to approximate reasoning using linguistic synthesis. IEEE Trans. Comput. C-26, 1182–1191 (1977)
Notterman, J.M.: Forms of Psychological Inquiry. Columbia University Press, New York (1985)
Notterman, J.M.: Note on reductionism in cognitive psychology: reification of cognitive processes into mind, mind-brain equivalence, and brain-computer analogy. J. Theor. Philos. Psychol. 20, 116–121 (2000)
Quine, W.V.: Mathematical Logic. Harper, New York (1940)
Searle, J.: Consciousness, explanatory inversion and cognitive science. Behav. Brain Sci. 13, 585–642 (1990)
Smithson, M.: Fuzzy Set Analysis for Behavioral and Social Sciences. Springer, New York (1987)
Wilson, R.A., Keil, F.C. (eds.): The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences. MIT Press, Cambridge (1999)
Zadeh, L.A.: A system-theoretic view of behavior modification. In: Wheeler, H. (ed.) Beyond the Punitive Society. W.H. Freeman and Co., 1973. Reprinted. In: Klir, G. (ed.) Zadeh, L.: Fuzzy Sets, Fuzzy Logic and Fuzzy Systems, Vol. One. World Scientific (1997)
Zadeh, L.A.: From computing with numbers to computing with words—from manipulation of measurement to manipulation of perceptions. IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst I: Fundam. Theory Appl. 45(1), 105–119 (1999)
Zadeh, L.A.: Computing with Words. Springer, Heidelberg (2012)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Julià, P. (2015). On Reasoning with Words and Perceptions. In: Seising, R., Trillas, E., Kacprzyk, J. (eds) Towards the Future of Fuzzy Logic. Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing, vol 325. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18750-1_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18750-1_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-18749-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-18750-1
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)