Computing the Mind
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-19-532067-1 (ISBN)
By analyzing the tasks facing any sentient being that is subject to stimulation and a pressure to act, Shimon Edelman identifies computation as the common denominator in the emerging answers to all these questions. Any system composed of elements that exchange signals with each other and occasionally with the rest of the world can be said to be engaged in computation. A brain composed of neurons is one example of a system that computes, and the computations that the neurons collectively carry out constitute the brain's mind.
Edelman presents a computational account of the entire spectrum of cognitive phenomena that constitutes the mind. He begins with sentience, and uses examples from visual perception to demonstrate that it must, at its very core, be a type of computation. Throughout his account, Edelman acknowledges the human mind's biological origins. Along the way, he also demystifies traits such as creativity, language, and individual and collective consciousness, and hints at how naturally evolved minds can transcend some of their limitations by moving to computational substrates other than brains. The account that Edelman gives in this book is accessible, yet unified and rigorous, and the big picture he presents is supported by evidence ranging from neurobiology to computer science. The book should be read by anyone seeking a comprehensive and current introduction to cognitive psychology.
Shimon Edelman is the author of Representation and Recognition in Vision and of dozens of scholarly publications in theoretical neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and artificial intelligence, all focusing on reverse-engineering the human brain. This effort, billed as the Experimental Epistemology Project, has resulted in several breakthroughs in understanding how the brain gives rise to the mind.
Preface ; I. Foundations ; 1. Brains, Minds, and Numbers ; 2. Computing Minds ; 3. Computing Brains ; 4. The Astonishing Hypothesis ; II. Faculties ; 5. Perception ; 6. Memory ; 7. Language ; 8. Thinking ; III. Finale ; 9. Being No One ; 10. Imagine ; 11. The Mind in the Act of Finding ; Appendices ; A. Bayesian Inference and Decision Making ; B. Mind the Gap ; Bibliography ; Index ; Credits
Erscheint lt. Verlag | 25.12.2008 |
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Zusatzinfo | 212 halftones, 164 line illus. |
Verlagsort | New York |
Sprache | englisch |
Maße | 217 x 236 mm |
Gewicht | 1338 g |
Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Psychologie ► Allgemeine Psychologie |
Geisteswissenschaften ► Psychologie ► Verhaltenstherapie | |
ISBN-10 | 0-19-532067-0 / 0195320670 |
ISBN-13 | 978-0-19-532067-1 / 9780195320671 |
Zustand | Neuware |
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