Journal

Volume 20, Issue 2 (June 30, 2019)

6 articles

• ICCS 2019 Conference
  by Editorial Board
  J. CS. 2019, 20(2), 0-;
  Abstract On behalf of the Korean Society for Cognitive Science and International Association for Cognitive Science, we are pleased to welcome you to the 12th International Conference on Cognitive Science (ICCS 2019) to be held at Seoul National University in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from August 22 through 2... [Read more].
  Abstract On behalf of the Korean Society for Cognitive Science and International Association for Cognitive Science, we are pleased to welcome you to the 12th International Conference on Cognitive Science (ICCS 2019) to be held at Seoul National University in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from August 22 through 24, 2019. For more information on the conference, visit the following site: https://iccs2019.github.io/ [Collapse]
• Introduction to the Second Special Issue on Biological Mentality
  by Kenneth A. Augustyn
  J. CS. 2019, 20(2), 189-194;
  Abstract The Second Workshop on Biological Mentality was held at the Michigan Tech Research Institute (www.mtri.org ) conference facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan on September 24-26, 2018. Four papers by authors who gave workshop talks follow in this special issue of Journal of Cognitive Science. [Read more].
  Abstract The Second Workshop on Biological Mentality was held at the Michigan Tech Research Institute (www.mtri.org ) conference facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan on September 24-26, 2018. Four papers by authors who gave workshop talks follow in this special issue of Journal of Cognitive Science. [Collapse]
• Physical Foundations of Biological Mentality
  by Kenneth A. Augustyn
  J. CS. 2019, 20(2), 195-214;
  Abstract Dualism struggles to connect two layers: the conscious mind and the physical workings of matter. It ignores a vast middle layer between the two, a layer that is beneath consciousness yet above known physical law. This middle layer is trans-robotic mentality, a means discovered by Nature to transcend... [Read more].
  Abstract Dualism struggles to connect two layers: the conscious mind and the physical workings of matter. It ignores a vast middle layer between the two, a layer that is beneath consciousness yet above known physical law. This middle layer is trans-robotic mentality, a means discovered by Nature to transcend robotic mentality. This middle layer evolved over billions of years before consciousness emerged from it, assuming more and more functions critical to survival as species evolved. Consciousness eventually emerged from trans-robotic mentality (not from robotic mentality), first intermittently then later more-or-less continuously. But there is no direct link between consciousness and matter. Every moment of human consciousness is utterly dependent on processes that transcend the known physical processes of matter. Trans-robotic processes are in some sense physical because they are “powered by” converted mass-energy that disappears from the physical world (and can reappear in acts of free will). But in another sense they are not physical because they have genuine autonomy and externality from the known laws of physics. What we call mind is the simultaneous combined (and oft-times conflicted) operation of all three layers: robotic, trans-robotic, and conscious. Based on these conjectures, a new mind-matter theory is presented which predicts experimental violations in the principle of conservation of mass-energy in living organisms.Keywords: Biological mentality, Mind-matter, Consciousness, Non-consciousness, Robotic mentality, Evolution of mentality [Collapse]
• Can Cognitive Science Help Us Understand Quantum Theory?
  by John Realpe-Gómez
  J. CS. 2019, 20(2), 215-228;
  Abstract Probably [Read more].
  Abstract Probably [Collapse]
• Rhythms of Biological Symbol Handling
  by John M. Myers, F. Hadi Madjid
  J. CS. 2019, 20(2), 229-250;
  Abstract From heart beats to the biochemistry of DNA, rhythms of symbol handling are essential to biology. To describe the rhythms of symbol handling, a new kind of physics is required. Acknowledging the agents that handle symbols leads to what could be called “two-clock physics”—or a “physics of the unexpec... [Read more].
  Abstract From heart beats to the biochemistry of DNA, rhythms of symbol handling are essential to biology. To describe the rhythms of symbol handling, a new kind of physics is required. Acknowledging the agents that handle symbols leads to what could be called “two-clock physics”—or a “physics of the unexpected,” in contrast to traditional physics which has exclusively focused on one-clock physics.Two-clock physics puts physics into the same evolutionary context as biology. From the point of view of two-clock physics, rhythms of agents transmitting symbols are not arbitrary motions to measure with respect to a given coordinate system with a time variable. Instead, these rhythms, once mathematically expressed, form a base structure, on top of which concepts of space and time become optional assumptions. Characteristic of the base structure is a form of synchronization, distinct from that introduced by Einstein in special relativity, and requiring that agents respond to unpredictable effects.For problems of biological rhythms, including those associated with the exercise of mentality, two-clock physics, introduced here, offers biologically appropriate alternatives to the usual concepts of space and time.Keywords: Agent, Symbol, Rhythms, Logical synchronization, Two-clock physics [Collapse]
• Thoughts on Consciousness
  by David Mumford
  J. CS. 2019, 20(2), 251-280;
  Abstract For many years, I have tried to come to a deeper understanding of what consciousness really means. This paper is a series of meditations about some aspects of this puzzle. First, I look at neuroscientists quest to localize consciousness in the brain and find wildly different conclusions. Second, bel... [Read more].
  Abstract For many years, I have tried to come to a deeper understanding of what consciousness really means. This paper is a series of meditations about some aspects of this puzzle. First, I look at neuroscientists quest to localize consciousness in the brain and find wildly different conclusions. Second, believing that emotions are an essential component of consciousness, I explore some ideas of those who seek a theory of emotions. Third, I look at the connection of consciousness and time, especially the NOW. Fourthly, I try to lay out the pros and cons of which, if any, animals have consciousness. And finally, I discuss whether consciousness can find a home in silicon, in an “AI.”Keywords: Conscious, Brain areas, Emotions, Now, Time, Animal awareness, AI, Neural nets, Grammar [Collapse]