lew (12/10/82)
I reacted with glee to Tom Blenko's appeal for divine revelation in understanding mind: " ... mind (whatever, dear heaven, that is) ... " Of course, I don't take this as a serious espousal of religious conviction. But I do take it as an expression of his exasperation (whatever, dear heaven, that is) with the stubborn thick-headedness of mystics, humanists, dualists and all the rest of the rabble, for their failure to grasp the cool logic of positivism. I think Whitehead once remarked on the irony of the passion with which materialists pursue their goal of eliminating emotion from the lexicon of philosophical discourse. I also liked his threat to sic the turing test on Searle's dog. That dog better watch out! That turing test has sharp, even if metaphorical, teeth. It is an amazing spectacle to see an idea, a pure abstraction, placed as a supreme judge over reality by the same person who sneers at the very concept of mind. Lew Mammel, Jr. ihuxr!lew