John Searle
John Searle
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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John Rogers Searle is a renowned American philosopher known for his work in the fields of philosophy of language, mind, and society.
Birth and Death Dates
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Born on July 31, 1932, John Searle passed away on September 30, 2020.
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Nationality: American
Profession: Philosopher, University Professor, Author
Early Life and Background
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Searle was born in Denver, Colorado. His early life was marked by a strong interest in philosophy, which he developed during his time at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He later moved to the United States, where he earned his Ph.D. from Oxford.
Major Accomplishments
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Searle's work has had a significant impact on various fields, including philosophy of language and mind. His most notable contributions include:
The Chinese Room Argument: A thought experiment designed to challenge the idea that computers can truly think or understand.
Speech Act Theory: An explanation of how words and sentences function in communication.
Social Constructionism: The concept that reality is shaped by human agreement.Notable Works or Actions
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Some of Searle's notable works include:
Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language (1969)
The Philosophy of Language (1971)
Minds, Brains and Science (1984)
He has also been a vocal critic of artificial intelligence, arguing that computers can never truly think or understand.
Impact and Legacy
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Searle's ideas have had far-reaching implications in various fields. His work on speech acts has influenced linguistics, while his social constructionism theory has impacted sociology and anthropology.
His criticisms of artificial intelligence have sparked debates about the capabilities of machines.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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John Searle is widely quoted for his thought-provoking ideas on language, mind, and society. His work continues to be relevant today due to its implications on various fields and its ability to challenge conventional wisdom.
His legacy serves as a reminder of the importance of critical thinking and the need to question assumptions about the world around us.
Quotes by John Searle
I want to block some common misunderstandings about 'understanding': In many of these discussions one finds a lot of fancy footwork about the word 'understanding.'
Where questions of style and exposition are concerned I try to follow a simple maxim: if you can't say it clearly you don't understand it yourself.
We often attribute ‘understanding’ and other cognitive predicates by metaphor and analogy to cars, adding machines, and other artifacts, but nothing is proved by such attributions.
Berkeley had a liberal element in the student body who tended to be quite active. I think that’s in general a feature of intellectually active places.
Our tools are extensions of our purposes, and so we find it natural to make metaphorical attributions of intentionality to them; but I take it no philosophical ice is cut by such examples.
My car and my adding machine understand nothing: they are not in that line of business.
In many cases it is a matter for decision and not a simple matter of fact whether x understands y; and so on.
Many people mistakenly suppose that the essence of consciousness is that of a control mechanism.
I will argue that in the literal sense the programmed computer understands what the car and the adding machine understand, namely, exactly nothing.
Where questions of style and exposition are concerned I try to follow a simple maxim: if you can’t say it clearly you don’t understand it yourself.