[chubot]

Maybe, but there are too many holes in the construct to make it useful IMO. It just provokes endless confused debate rather than illuminating anything.

IMO Kurzweil's response is actually spot on, although not that hard to come up with. You could make the argument: in your brain, there are just atoms following the laws of physics. The atoms have no choice in the matter, and know nothing about Chinese, or hunger, love, life goals, etc. Your brain is entirely composed of atoms so you can't be conscious.

Obviously "meaning" arises from mindless syntax or mindless physics somewhere in the process. We just don't know where. The Chinese room doesn't bring us any closer to that understanding, and doesn't refute anything.

[vixen99]

Why can't meaning just be the sensation of a local minimum? When you find meaning, you temporarily pause because there's nowhere else to go in the local environment. Subsequently of course, you might be jolted out of that and be compelled to find a new minimum.

[Scarblac]

How does that explain consciousness, qualia et cetera?