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38Limits of Computational Explanation of CognitionIn Vincent C. Müller (ed.), Philosophy and Theory of Artificial Intelligence, Springer. pp. 69-84. 2013.In this chapter, I argue that some aspects of cognitive phenomena cannot be explained computationally. In the first part, I sketch a mechanistic account of computational explanation that spans multiple levels of organization of cognitive systems. In the second part, I turn my attention to what cannot be explained about cognitive systems in this way. I argue that information-processing mechanisms are indispensable in explanations of cognitive phenomena, and this vindicates the computational expla…Read more
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411Heroizm idylliczny - Epikur w oczach NietzschegoPrzeglad Filozoficzny - Nowa Seria 28 (4): 121-135. 1998.Nietzsche's treatment of Epicurus is an interesting example of philosophical hermeneutics. Epicurus bas tren notoriously misinterpreted, claims Nietzsche, because bis mask bas been taken for bis true face. Traditionally Epicurus is presented as a utilitarian or hedonist avant la lettre. This is a simplification motivated by a desire to deprecate bis philosophy. To Nietzsche Epicurus was „an idyllic hero”, a teacher with anistocratic predilections aun his own concept of good, critical of the trad…Read more
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405Computational Mechanisms and Models of ComputationPhilosophia Scientiae 18 215-228. 2014.In most accounts of realization of computational processes by physical mechanisms, it is presupposed that there is one-to-one correspondence between the causally active states of the physical process and the states of the computation. Yet such proposals either stipulate that only one model of computation is implemented, or they do not reflect upon the variety of models that could be implemented physically. In this paper, I claim that mechanistic accounts of computation should allow for a broad …Read more
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327Situatedness and Embodiment of Computational SystemsEntropy 19 (4): 162. 2017.In this paper, the role of the environment and physical embodiment of computational systems for explanatory purposes will be analyzed. In particular, the focus will be on cognitive computational systems, understood in terms of mechanisms that manipulate semantic information. It will be argued that the role of the environment has long been appreciated, in particular in the work of Herbert A. Simon, which has inspired the mechanistic view on explanation. From Simon’s perspective, the embodied view…Read more
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57When Weak Modularity is Robust Enough?Análisis Filosófico 28 (1): 77-89. 2008.In this paper, I suggest that the notion of module explicitly defined by Peter Carruthers in The Architecture of The Mind (Carruthers 2006) is not really In use in the book. Instead, a more robust notion seems to be actually in play. The more robust notion, albeit implicitly assumed, seems to be far more useful for making claims about the modularity of mind. Otherwise, the claims would become trivial. This robust notion will be reconstructed and improved upon by putting it into a more general fr…Read more
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628Computation and Multiple RealizabilityIn Vincent C. Müller (ed.), Fundamental Issues of Artificial Intelligence, Springer. pp. 29-41. 2016.Multiple realizability (MR) is traditionally conceived of as the feature of computational systems, and has been used to argue for irreducibility of higher-level theories. I will show that there are several ways a computational system may be seen to display MR. These ways correspond to (at least) five ways one can conceive of the function of the physical computational system. However, they do not match common intuitions about MR. I show that MR is deeply interest-related, and for this reason, dif…Read more
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146Idyllic heroism: Nietzsche's View of EpicurusJournal of Nietzsche Studies 15 70-79. 1998.In this paper, Nietzsche's interpretation of Epicurus is sketched. The ancient philosopher is seen as subscribing to 'idyllic heroism', i.e., heroically adopting an idyllic way of life.
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531Explanatory completeness and idealization in large brain simulations: a mechanistic perspectiveSynthese 193 (5): 1457-1478. 2016.The claim defended in the paper is that the mechanistic account of explanation can easily embrace idealization in big-scale brain simulations, and that only causally relevant detail should be present in explanatory models. The claim is illustrated with two methodologically different models: Blue Brain, used for particular simulations of the cortical column in hybrid models, and Eliasmith’s SPAUN model that is both biologically realistic and able to explain eight different tasks. By drawing on th…Read more
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Analityczna metafizyka umysłu: najnowsze kontrowersje (edited book)Wydawn. Instytutu Filozofii i Socjologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk. 2008.
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54Function and causal relevance of contentNew Ideas in Psychology 40 (94-102). 2016.In this paper, I focus on a problem related to teleological theories of content namely, which notion of function makes content causally relevant? It has been claimed that some functional accounts of content make it causally irrelevant, or epiphenomenal; in which case, such notions of function could no longer act as the pillar of naturalized semantics. By looking closer at biological questions about behavior, I argue that past discussion has been oriented towards an ill-posed question. What I def…Read more
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419Satisfaction conditions in anticipatory mechanismsBiology and Philosophy 30 (5): 709-728. 2015.The purpose of this paper is to present a general mechanistic framework for analyzing causal representational claims, and offer a way to distinguish genuinely representational explanations from those that invoke representations for honorific purposes. It is usually agreed that rats are capable of navigation because they maintain a cognitive map of their environment. Exactly how and why their neural states give rise to mental representations is a matter of an ongoing debate. I will show that anti…Read more
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148Manifest kognitywistycznego religioznawstwa (D. Dennet, Odczarowanie. Religia jako zjawisko naturalne) (review)Etyka 41 187-191. 2008.
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639Hegel, Nietzsche i konserwatyzmPrincipia 199-221. 1999.Deleuze uważa, ze nie można pogodzić Hegla i Nietzschego. Hegel jest wedle niego abstrakcyjny, a Nietzsche - konkretny. Tymczasem pojęcia "konkret" i "abstrakcja" należą do ideologicznego arsenału konserwatyzmu. Rozpatruję nie tyle prawdziwość tezy Deleuza, co jej genealogię. Hegel i Nietzsche kontynuują oświeceniowe poszukiwania "człowieka konkretnego". "Człowiek konkretny" to wytwór drugiej fazy oświecenia (rodzaj "kompensacji" w znaczeniu Marquarda): przekształcenie parenetyki w filozofię his…Read more
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606Definining Ontological NaturalismIn Alexander Hieke & Hannes Leitgeb (eds.), Reduction and Elimination in Philosophy and the Sciences. Papers of the 31st International Wittgenstein Symposium, Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society. 2008.Many philosophers use “physicalism” and “naturalism” interchangeably. In this paper, I will distinguish ontological naturalism from physicalism. While broad versions of physicalism are compatible with naturalism, naturalism doesn't have to be committed to strong versions of physical reductionism, so it cannot be defined as equivalent to it. Instead of relying on the notion of ideal physics, naturalism can refer to the notion of ideal natural science that doesn't imply unity of science. The notio…Read more
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461Social intelligence: how to integrate research? A mechanistic perspectiveProceedings of the European Conference on Social Intelligence (ECSI-2014). 2014.Is there a field of social intelligence? Many various disciplines ap-proach the subject and it may only seem natural to suppose that different fields of study aim at explaining different phenomena; in other words, there is no spe-cial field of study of social intelligence. In this paper, I argue for an opposite claim. Namely, there is a way to integrate research on social intelligence, as long as one accepts the mechanistic account to explanation. Mechanistic inte-gration of different explanatio…Read more
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125Is computationalism trivial?In Gordana Dodig Crnkovic & Susan Stuart (eds.), Computation, Information, Cognition: The Nexus and the Liminal, Cambridge Scholars Press. 2007.In this paper, I want to deal with the triviality threat to computationalism. On one hand, the controversial and vague claim that cognition involves computation is still denied. On the other, contemporary physicists and philosophers alike claim that all physical processes are indeed computational or algorithmic. This claim would justify the computationalism claim by making it utterly trivial. I will show that even if these two claims were true, computationalism would not have to be trivial
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Jak udawać dualistę, wprowadzając epicykle do funkcjonalizmu?Przeglad Filozoficzny - Nowa Seria 78. 2011.
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33Evolutionist of intelligence. IntroductionAvant: Trends in Interdisciplinary Studies 2 (2): 29-33. 2011.It would be hard to find a more fervent advocate of the position that computers are of profound significance to philosophy than Aaron Sloman. Yet, he is not a stereotypical proponent of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Far from it; in his writings, he undermines several popular convictions of functionalists. Through his drafts and polemics, Sloman definitely exerts quite substantial influence on the philosophy of Artificial Intelligence. Sloman's paper “Evolution: The Computer Systems Engineer Desi…Read more
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1168Beyond Formal Structure: A Mechanistic Perspective on Computation and ImplementationJournal of Cognitive Science 12 (4): 359-379. 2011.In this article, after presenting the basic idea of causal accounts of implementation and the problems they are supposed to solve, I sketch the model of computation preferred by Chalmers and argue that it is too limited to do full justice to computational theories in cognitive science. I also argue that it does not suffice to replace Chalmers’ favorite model with a better abstract model of computation; it is necessary to acknowledge the causal structure of physical computers that is not accommod…Read more
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8Models of EnvironmentIn Roger Frantz & Leslie Marsh (eds.), Minds, Models and Milieux: Commemorating the Centennial of the Birth of Herbert Simon, Palgrave-macmillan. pp. 227-238. 2016.Herbert A. Simon is well known for his account of bounded rationality. Whereas classical economics idealized economic agency and framed rational choice in terms of the decision theory, Simon insisted that agents need not be optimal in their choices. They might be mere satispcers, i.e., attain good enough goals rather than optimal ones. At the same time, behaviorally as well as computationally, bounded rationality is much more realistic.
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531Unification Strategies in Cognitive ScienceStudies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric 48 (1). 2016.Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary conglomerate of various research fields and disciplines, which increases the risk of fragmentation of cognitive theories. However, while most previous work has focused on theoretical integration, some kinds of integration may turn out to be monstrous, or result in superficially lumped and unrelated bodies of knowledge. In this paper, I distinguish theoretical integration from theoretical unification, and propose some analyses of theoretical unification d…Read more