melody? Or ajoke? Or is it more likely that there would only be symbols for
concepts roughly the size of words, and that larger ideas, such as phrases or
sentences, would be represented by concurrent or sequential activation of
various symbols?
Let us consider the issue of the size of concepts represented by sym-
bols. Most thoughts expressed in sentences are made up out of basic,
quasi-atomic components which we do not usually analyze further. These
are of word size, roughly-&ometimes a little longer, sometimes a little
shorter. For instance, the noun "waterfall", the proper noun "Niagara
Falls", the past-tense suffix "-ed", the verb "to catch up with", and longer
idiomatic phrases are all close to atomic. These are typical elementary
brush strokes which we use in painting portraits of more complex concepts,
such as the plot of a movie, the flavor of a city, the nature of consciousness,
etc. Such complex ideas are not single brush strokes. It seems reasonable to
think that the brush strokes of language are also brush strokes of thought,
and therefore that symbols represent concepts of about this size. Thus a
symbol would be roughly something for which you know a word or stock
phrase, or with which you associate a proper name. And the representation
in the brain of a more complex idea, such as a problem in a love affair,
would be a very complicated sequence of activations of various symbols by
other symbols.
Classes and InstancesThere is a general distinction concerning thinking: that between categories
and individuals, or classes and instances. (Two other terms sometimes used
are "types" and "tokens".) It might seem at first sight that a given symbol
would inherently be either a symbol for a class or a symbol for an
instance-but that is an oversimplification. Actually, most symbols may play
either role, depending on the context of their activation. For example, look
at the list below:
(1) a publication
(2) a newspaper
(3) The San Francisco Chronicle
(4) the May 18 edition of the Chronicle
(5) my copy of the May 18 edition of the Chronicle
(6) my copy of the May 18 edition of the Chronicle as
it was when I first picked it up (as contrasted with
my copy as it was a few days later: in my fireplace,
burning)Here, lines 2 to 5 all play both roles. Thus, line 4 is an instance of of the
general class of line 3, and line 5 is an instance of line 4. Line 6 is a special
kind of instance of a class: a manifestation. The successive stages of an object
during its life history are its manifestations. It is interesting to wonder if the
cows on a farm perceive the invariant individual underneath all the man-
ifestations of the jolly farmer who feeds them hay.
Brains and Thoughts 351