Computers, Minds and Conduct

'This is an extremely important book. It makes the best possible case one could for restoring Wittgenstein and Ryle to their proper places as leading thinkers on the mind-body problem by demonstrating the relevance of their arguments and philosophical techniques for some of the most hotly debated topics in contemporary cognitive science' S. G. Shanker, York University 'The book is wonderfully clearly written, admirable in its technical command of the issues, and informed throughout by a deep understanding of the philosophical psychology of Ryle and Wittgenstein.... We can only hope that this devastating critique will be read and digested by all those in philosophy, psychology and cognitive science who may yet be spared the dangerous and grandiose illusions exposed in this important book.' Rom Harre, University of Oxford and University of Georgetown 'This highly readable book advances the proposition that 'the' problem of mind and accompanying efforts at a commensurate theory be effectively dis-solved. The authors bring both a sociological eye and a disciplinary agnosticism to their task, as they survey a broad terrain of related debates within philosophy, linguistics and cognitive science. Along the way, they present carefully researched arguments to the effect that language, learning, intelligence and interaction become scientific problems requiring theoretical solution only by being wrenched from the historically and culturally constituted worlds of practical human activity that give rise to and animate them. Restored to those worlds, they argue that each of these areas evidences differences between humans and machines that have mattered to us, and will continue to do so' Lucy Suchman, Xerox Palo Alto Research Centre

Graham Button is a Senior Scientist at the rank Xerox Research Centre, Cambridge. Jeff Coulter is a Professor of Sociology at Boston University, MA, USA. John R. E. Lee is an Honorary Research and Teaching Fellow at the University of Manchester. Wes Sharrock is a Professor in Sociology at the University of Manchester.

Introduction. 1. Philosophy, Language and Mind. 2. The Cartesian Nexus. 3. Minds, Machines and 'Folk Psychology'. 4. Connectionist Theory and Cognitive Science. 5. Can a Machine Think?. 6. Falling Short of the Programmatics: The Case of Computational Linguistics. 7. Can a Machine Talk?. Conclusion: 'None of the Above.'. Bibliography. Index.