mind & identity · new to this edition
the chinese room
a room that speaks fluent chinese, and a man inside it who understands not a word.
In 1980 John Searle proposed a thought experiment to attack a then-rising idea: that a computer running the right program would not merely simulate a mind but genuinely <em>have</em> one: real understanding, real thought. Forty years on, with machines that converse fluently, the argument is more alive than ever. Step into the room.
does anything in the room understand chinese?
You are locked in a room. You speak no Chinese; to you its characters are meaningless squiggles. Through a slot come slips of paper bearing Chinese writing. You have an enormous rulebook, in English, that tells you: when you see these squiggles, copy out those squiggles in reply. You follow it mechanically and post the answer back out.
The rulebook is so good that, to the Chinese speakers outside, your replies are indistinguishable from those of a fluent native. They are sure they are conversing with someone who understands. Inside, you understand nothing; you are just matching shapes.
further reading
- minds, brains, and programs original paper
- the chinese room argument stanford encyclopedia of philosophy