creators_name: Chalmers, David J type: preprint datestamp: 1997-08-29 lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:53:44 metadata_visibility: show title: Does a Rock Implement Every Finite-State Automaton? subjects: phil-mind full_text_status: public abstract: Putnam has argued that computational functionalism cannot serve as a foundation for the study of the mind, as every ordinary open physical system implements every finite-state automaton. I argue that Putnam's argument fails, but that it points out the need for a better understanding of the bridge between the theory of computation and the theory of physical systems: the relation of implementation. It also raises questions about the classes of automata that can serve as a basis for understanding the mind. I develop an account of implementation, linked to an appropriate class of automata, such that the requirement that a system implement a given automaton places a very strong constraint on the system. This clears the way for computation to play a central role in the analysis of mind. date: 1996 date_type: published refereed: TRUE citation: Chalmers, David J (1996) Does a Rock Implement Every Finite-State Automaton? [Preprint] document_url: http://cogprints.org/226/1/199708001.html