Technology Quotes by John Searle

The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…

— John Searle

Where consciousness is concerned, the appearance is the reality.

— John Searle

In many cases it is a matter for decision and not a simple matter of fact whether x understands y; and so on

— John Searle

We often attribute 'understanding' and other cognitive predicates by metaphor and analogy to cars, adding machines, and other artifacts, but nothing is proved by…

— John Searle

I will argue that in the literal sense the programmed computer understands what the car and the adding machine understand, namely, exactly nothing

— John Searle

We do not live in several different, or even two different, worlds, a mental world and a physical world, a scientific world and a…

— John Searle

Whatever is referred to must exist. Let us call this the axiom of existence.

— John Searle

You can't *discover* that the brain is a digital computer. You can only *interpret* the brain as a digital computer.

— John Searle

How do we get from electrons to elections and from protons to presidents?

— John Searle

Where conscious subjectivity is concerned, there is no distinction between the observation and the thing observed

— John Searle

"Akrasia" [weakness of will] in rational beings is as common as wine in France.

— John Searle

Nowadays nobody bothers, and it is considered in slightly bad taste to even raise the question of God's existence. Matters of religion are like…

— John Searle