The 'simple-minded' metaphor: Why the brain is not a computer, via a defence of Searle

摘要

This paper offers a defence of Searle's argument that computation is observer relative. In so doing it will show why observer relativity is a necessary requirement for all applications of concepts to objects. A consequence of this account will be to critique the metaphor of brain as digital computer, and highlight why metaphors of this sort lack epistemic content. This paper offers a defence of Searle's original account of computation, by presenting a Kantian position on the necessary unity of consciousness in relation to objects and concepts.