Computers and cognition: Why minds are not machines (Q1408490)

This book is written by Professor of Philosophy J. H. Fetzer. The author presents a collection of studies on nature of mind and cognition. Unlike the conception of minds as machines, this novel approach has obvious evolutionary implications. The book consists of three parts: I: semiotic systems, II: computers and cognition, and III: computer epistemology. Essays in part I provide an introduction to the theory of semiotic systems. While part I focuses on representations, part II focuses on the nature of computation itself. The papers in part III deal with digital machines and the nature of computers as complex causal systems even apart from any questions of their existence as thinking things. The Epilogue investigates the boundaries of what can be known about the performance of computer systems in a world that is increasingly dependent upon them. This book appeals to students of computer science, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science, as well as all students of philosophy.