21.1 The Pronouns Of The Mind


"Pronouns do not signify objects or words; instead, they represent conceptions, ideas, or activities that the speaker assumes are going on inside the listener's mind. But how can the listener tell which one of the activities is signified when there are serveral possibilities?" Minsky suggests that pronomolization is not language specific, and introduces the term "pronome" -- "temporary `handles' for taking hold of, and moving aroudn, those active fragments of mental states."

(NB: Do pronomes serve the same function as FINSTs? Minsky's argument for the requirement of pronomes shares some properties with Pylyshyn's.)


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