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The Reith Lectures 1984: Minds, Brains, and Science: 2: Beer Cans and Meat Machines

BBC Radio 4
on BBC Radio 4 FM

Six talks by John Searle, Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley.

"The prevailing view in philosophy, psychology, and artificial intelligence is one that emphasises the analogies between the functioning of the human brain and the functioning of digital computers.... So, if you made a computer out of old beer cans powered by windmills, if it had the right program, it would have to have a mind....'

In his second lecture, Professor Searle examines recent attempts at making artificial minds, and considers what - if anything - a thinking machine could tell us about ourselves.
(The Reith Lectures are printed weekly in The Listener)

Contributors

Lecturer:
Professor John Searle
Source: Radio Times

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