Alienated Modes of Intelligence and Their Critique: from Computocentrism and Neurocentrism to Inner Sociality

Introduction. Intelligence is a fuzzy concept with many connotations. To construct a theory of intelligence, a philosophical analysis of its general essence is required, involving a critique of its distorted interpretations. Methodology and sources. The study emphasizes the genealogical method, critical analysis, and systemic dialectical method. The first uncovers the «background» and the trajectory of each concept’s formation. The second exposes their conceptual irrelevance. The third highlights the valuable aspects of the concepts of and ultimately offers a holistic understanding of intelligence. Results and discussion. The two main alienated modes of intelligence are computocentrism and naturalism, each of which may appear in both narrow and broad versions. In the narrow version, computocentrism is logocentrism. In its broader forms, computocentrism continues to interpret intelligence as a computational phenomenon, but through the prism of symbolic representation and language. The narrow version of naturalism is neurocentrism, which understands of intelligence as a phenomenon of the brain. In a broader sense, it expands intelligence into the corporeal dimension and, subsequently, into the socio-cultural one through naturalization. These modes may take hybrid forms, as illustrated by the example of artificial neural networks. Conclusion. The insufficiency of both approaches and their simplifications of intelligence are demonstrated. In contrast, it is proposed to consider intelligence through the lens of a non-reductionist understanding of sociality. Within this framework, logic, information, the brain, and the body are necessary but insufficient foundations of intelligence. Intelligence is shown to function in joint communicative and, more importantly, projective and creative human activity. The individual and the collective therefore reside in it in an inseparable unity.

Authors: Anton I. Zhelnin

Direction: Philosophy

Keywords: intelligence, computocentrism, neurocentrism, naturalism, sociality, collective intelligence, artificial intelligence

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