PSSH & Lot

Physical Symbol System Hypothesis

A theory proposing that a physical symbol system has the necessary and sufficient means for general intelligent action.

Necessity Claim

The assertion that anything capable of intelligent action must be a physical symbol system.

Sufficiency Claim

The assertion that any sufficiently sophisticated physical symbol system can perform intelligent action.

Recursive Symbols

Combinations of symbols that follow logical rules and can be manipulated to form complex structures.

Problem-Space

The range of possible situations defined by the application of operators to an initial state in problem-solving.

Traveling Salesperson Problem

A classic optimization problem where a salesperson must visit multiple cities efficiently, starting and ending in a specific city.

Heuristic

A rule of thumb used to make decisions or solve problems in uncertain situations.

General Problem Solver (GPS)

A method for problem-solving that evaluates the difference between current and solution states and applies transformations to reduce that difference.

Heuristic Search

A strategy that evaluates the most promising moves without exhaustively checking every possible option.

Language of Thought Hypothesis

The theory that mental representations are structured like sentences in an internal language, influencing information processing.

Propositional Attitudes

Psychological states that express attitudes toward propositions, such as beliefs and desires.

Causation by Content

The concept that beliefs and desires can cause behavior through their representational content.

Formal Properties vs

The distinction between the structural aspects of representations (formal) and their meanings (semantic).

Russian Room Argument

Searle's argument that a machine following syntactic rules cannot genuinely understand language, demonstrating only an illusion of intelligence.

Turing Test

A test measuring a machine's ability to exhibit indistinguishable responses from a human, critiqued for not proving real intelligence.

Systems Reply

The argument that the entire system (e.g., the Russian room) can understand language, even if the individual components do not.

Robot Reply

The claim that understanding requires embodiment and interaction with the environment, not just syntactic manipulation.

Searle's Response

The assertion that memorizing rules does not equate to understanding, as it merely involves following instructions without comprehension.