The Computational Theory of Mind: Is the Brain Really a Computer? 🤔

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. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2001-14520-000
Smart (2017). The mind/brain identity theory. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2017/entries/mind-identity/
Bickle (2020). Multiple realizability. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2020/entries/multiple-realizability/