(October 20, 2013 at 5:32 am)genkaus Wrote: In what sense are you using the term "meaning" here? Is it in a definitional sense, i.e., a word has meaning if it refers to another concept? Or is it in the sense of "importance" or "significance"?You must have the first before you can have the second.
(October 20, 2013 at 5:32 am)genkaus Wrote: Aren't you missing the fact that "seeing beyond what is immediately apparent" is a form of complex data processing.
You have confused data processing with the assignment of meaning. The first is the manipulation of symbols. The second is interpreting the significance of those symbols. A machine process can start with one set of symbols and follow rules to produce a second. It can do so without any understanding of what the symbols mean. Understanding the significance of the symbols is another thing altogether. The thought problem that illustrates your mistake is Searle’s “Chinese Room”.