?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=A+Computational+Foundation+for+the+Study+of+Cognition&rft.creator=Chalmers%2C+David+J.&rft.subject=Artificial+Intelligence&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Mind&rft.description=Computation+is+central+to+the+foundations+of+modern+cognitive+science%2C+but+its+role+is+controversial.+Questions+about+computation+abound%3A+What+is+it+for+a+physical+system+to+implement+a+computation%3F+Is+computation+sufficient+for+thought%3F+What+is+the+role+of+computation+in+a+theory+of+cognition%3F+What+is+the+relation+between+different+sorts+of+computational+theory%2C+such+as+connectionism+and+symbolic+computation%3F+In+this+paper+I+develop+a+systematic+framework+that+addresses+all+of+these+questions.+Justifying+the+role+of+computation+requires+analysis+of+implementation%2C+the+nexus+between+abstract+computations+and+concrete+physical+systems.+I+give+such+an+analysis%2C+based+on+the+idea+that+a+system+implements+a+computation+if+the+causal+structure+of+the+system+mirrors+the+formal+structure+of+the+computation.+This+account+can+be+used+to+justify+the+central+commitments+of+artificial+intelligence+and+computational+cognitive+science%3A+the+thesis+of+computational+sufficiency%2C+which+holds+that+the+right+kind+of+computational+structure+suffices+for+the+possession+of+a+mind%2C+and+the+thesis+of+computational+explanation%2C+which+holds+that+computation+provides+a+general+framework+for+the+explanation+of+cognitive+processes.+The+theses+are+consequences+of+the+facts+that+(a)+computation+can+specify+general+patterns+of+causal+organization%2C+and+(b)+mentality+is+an+organizational+invariant%2C+rooted+in+such+patterns.+Along+the+way+I+answer+various+challenges+to+the+computationalist+position%2C+such+as+those+put+forward+by+Searle.+I+close+by+advocating+a+kind+of+minimal+computationalism%2C+compatible+with+a+very+wide+variety+of+empirical+approaches+to+the+mind.+This+allows+computation+to+serve+as+a+true+foundation+for+cognitive+science.&rft.date=1993&rft.type=Preprint&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F319%2F1%2Fcomputation.html&rft.identifier=++Chalmers%2C+David+J.++(1993)+A+Computational+Foundation+for+the+Study+of+Cognition.++%5BPreprint%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F319%2F