6-33 Absent qualia problem.
. . . is disputed by . . .
6-34 Mental states only arise under the constraints of natural law.
The claim (John Pollock, 1989)
To generate mental states, information flow must be guided by
natural laws. In the China example, information flow is guided
by human activities, rather than by natural law. So the people
of China do not give rise to a mental state, nor should a functionalist
expect them to. Note: Pollock is not arguing against functionalism,
but is adding a requirement that any functionalist theory must
satisfy.
The Pollock argument
John Pollock argues as follows: "The reason we resist attributing
mental states to the nation of China (or to a structure consisting
of its citizenry) in this example is that insofar as the citizens
work together to mimic the behavior of my mental states, they
do so willingly. There may be a certain amount of government coercion,
but they resist thinking of their joint behavior as dictated by
rigid laws of nature. On the other hand, for there to be a rationally
adequate mapping from states of the nation of China to mental
states, it is required that the citizenry form a structure whose
behavior is dictated by ordinary physical laws to mimic rational
architecture."
He concludes, "Thus, insofar as the behavior of the Chinese citizenry is not dictated by laws of nature, it does not follow from (R-BASE) that a structure composed of them has mental states. On the other hand, if we decide that we really can build a physical structure out of human beings in such a way that laws of nature dictate that it will mimic rational architecture, then it is not obvious that it cannot possess mental states. In the latter case, that the structure is made out of human beings seems incidental to whether it can possess mental states" (J. Pollock, 1989, p. 78-79).
This quote appears as it was cited by Bringsjord, 1992, p. 221-222.
References
Bringsjord, Selmer. 1992.What Robots Can and Can't Be.
Boston: Kluwer.
Pollock, John. 1989. How To Build a Person: a Prolegomena. Cambridge, MA: Bradford Books, MIT Press.
Links
is disputed by 6-35 Drugged Gigantor-building
Norwegians in Texas.