PHIL 133

Sections

Section 1A: Fri. 9:00-9:50 Dodd 154
Section 1B: Fri. 10:00-10:50 Dodd 154

Office hours

GG: Week 11: F 10-11 or by appt.
JG: Friday 1-3 pm, Dodd 300C

Course book

Making Minds (MM) current version

Homework assignments

Homework 1
Homework 2
Homework 3
Homework 4
Homework 5
Homework 6 - due Tues. Dec. 9
Homework 7 (Final project) - due Mon Dec. 15

Syllabus

(T) = Technical text.
(C) = Conceptual text.
* = Classic text.

Unit 1: Computation

0 The Cognition-Body Problem
Th 9/25

Read:

MM: The Cognition-Body Problem
MM: What is a Computer?
Syllabus (this page) and Course Policies.

1.1 Logic Gates & Combinatorial Circuits
T 9/30

Read:

MM: Logic Gates & Combinatorial Circuits
(C) Hillis (1999) The Pattern on the Stone, "Preface: Magic in the Stone," Ch. 1: "Nuts and Bolts," Ch. 2: "Universal Building Blocks" (through p. 30)

Recommended reading

(C) Edelman (2008) Computing the Brain, Ch. 3: "Computing Brains" pp. 37-44, 50-58

1.2 Functions & Representations
Th 10/2

Read:

MM: Functions
MM: Systems of Representation
(T) Petzold (200) Code, Ch. 7: "Our Ten Digits" and Ch. 8: "Alternatives to Ten" (2000) Petzol

Recommended reading

(T) Redwoods Department of Mathematics (2007) "Introduction to Functions"
(C) Edelman (2008) Computing the Brain, Ch. 2: "Computing Minds" pp. 13-25
(C) Gallistel and King (2009) Memory and the Computational Brain, Ch. 3: "Functions"

HW1. Basics: Circuits, Functions, and Representations
Due Sunday October 5, 11:59 PM

2.1 Computation with Combinatorial Circuits (CCs)
T 10/7

Read:

MM: Defining Computation
MM: Computation as a 3-way Relation

Recommended reading

(C) Crane (2003) The Mechanical Mind, Ch. 3: "Computers and Thought" pp. 83-114 only (skim 92-99)
(T*) Cummins (1991) Meaning and Mental Representations, Ch. 8: "Interpretational Semantics" (excerpt)

2.2 The Story of Binary +1 (CC)
Th 10/9

Read:

MM: Functional Abstraction
MM: Functional Composition
MM: The Story of Binary Successor

Recommended reading

(T) Petzold (2000) Code, Ch. 12: "A Binary Adding Machine"
(C) Dixon (2017) "How Aristotle created the computer"

3.1 Natural and Artificial Computers
T 10/14

Read:

MM: Introducing Turbots
MM: Real and Ideal Computers
MM: Natural and Artificial Computers
(C*) Craik (1943) The Nature of Explanation, Ch. 5: "Hypothesis on the Nature of Thought"

Recommended reading

(C) Pinker, (1997) How the Mind Works, Ch. 2: "Thinking Machines" (excerpt)
(C) Lande (2019) "Do you compute?" (written by a former student from this class!)

3.2 Computational Theory of Mind
Th 10/16

NO CLASS TODAY
But James will be leading office hours during class time, in the lecture room.

Read:

MM: The Computational Theory of Mind
MM: Lessons and Limits of Computation with Combinatorial Circuits

Recommended reading

(C) McGlaughlin (2004) "Computationalism, Connectionism, and the Philosophy of Mind" — pages 135-141 only.
(Haugeland, Semantic Engines)
(C) Ravenscroft (2005) Philosophy of Mind, Ch. 6: "The Computational Theory of Mind"
(C) Johnson-Laird (1988) "How Should the Mind Be Studied?". [Trying to find a PDF]

HW2. Computing with CCs
Due Sunday October 19, 11:59 PM

Unit 2: Levels

4.1 Memory and Sequential Circuits (SCs)
T 10/21

Read:

MM: Memory
MM: Circuit Memory

Recommended reading

(C) Braitenberg (1986) Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology, Ch. 5: "Vehicles"

4.2 Computing in Time
Th 10/23

Read:

MM: Machines in Time: Sequential Circuits
MM: Computing in TIme

Recommended reading

(T) Neso Academy (2015) "Comparison between Combinational and Sequential Circuits"
(T) Neso Academy (2015) "Introduction to Sequential Circuits"

5.1 Circuits and States
T 10/28

Read:

MM: Computational Power
MM: The Method of State Description

Recommended reading

Text

5.2 State Abstraction
Th 10/30

Read:

MM: State Abstraction
(C*) Putnam (1967) "The Nature of Mental States" (excerpt)
- (If you already read Putnam (1960) "Minds and Machines", that will work)
(C*) Putnam (1975) "Philosophy and Our Mental Life" (excerpt)

Recommended reading

(T) Patterson and Hennessy (2018) "Finite State Machines"
(C*) Putnam (1967) "The Nature of Mental States"
(C*) Putnam (1975) "Philosophy and Our Mental Life"

6.1 Finite State Machines (FSMs)
& the Algorithm Concept
T 11/4

Read:

MM: Finite State Machines
(C) Hillis (1999) "The Pattern on the Stone" --- pages 30-38

Recommended reading

(T) Gkasdrogkas (2019) "An Example-based Introduction to Finite State Machines" (Skip NFAs)
(C) Review the discussion of algorithms from the Crane reading for Week 3.1.

HW3. Computing with SCs
Due Wednesday November 5, 11:59 PM

6.2 Levels of Abstraction
Th 11/6

Read:

MM: Levels of abstraction
(C*) Marr (1982) "Understanding Complex Information-Processing Systems"

Recommended reading

Text

7.1 NO CLASS: Veterans day holiday
T 11/11

Unit 3: Cognition

7.2 Turing Machines (TMs)
Th 11/13

Read:

MM: Turing Machines
MM: Turing Machine Abstraction and Composition

Recommended reading

Gallistel and King, Preface
(T*) Turing (1936) "On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem" (excerpt)
(T) Boolos, Burges, and Jeffries (2007) Computability and Logic, Ch. 3 "Turing Computability"

Of interest:

The Imitation Game (2014) - a Hollywood biopic about Alan Turing
LEGO Turing Machine [youtube]
Wood Turing Machine [youtbue]

8.1 Recursive Algorithms for TM Computation
T 11/18

MM: Recursion
MM: Binary Turing Machines
MM: Exploring the Mathematical Tree

Recommended reading

(C*) Chomsky (1957) "An elementary linguistic theory" (excerpt from Syntactic Structures)
Hillis (1999) "Programming"
Miller, Galanter, Pribram (1960), "The Unit of Analysis" from Plans and the Structure of Behavior