Damien Broderick wrote:
>
> At 10:16 PM 4/10/99 -0500, Eliezer wrote:
>
> >> You're using the word "anthropomorphic" in a manner quite different from
> >> how I normally see it used. Could you flesh that out a little more?
> >
> >Anthropomorphic: Shaped by man. Any pattern caused by features which
> >are unique to humanity
>
> This is a contrary usage, Eli, almost the opposite of the standard.
Your definition is better, anyway, but let me try to explain mine: There are some cases where anthropomorphic explanations - explanations caused by features which are unique to humanity - are correct; for example, an anthropomorphic explanation of human culture. In other cases, where the forces are presumably preexisting to and external from humanity, such as the laws of physics, "anthropomorphism" is a legitimate criticism. You're probably right in that something needs to be added about anthropomorphism referring to perceptions or mental constructs rather than realities.
> Anthropomorphic: `Shaped like man'. Any pattern deformed by a human
> percipient into a construct that resembles something human. E.g., imposing
> the face of Jesus on a bean or a biscuit and declaring this a miracle. E.g.
> (maybe, maybe not) Sagan and Druyan telling the story of an ape troop in
> terms appropriate to a bunch of feeble-minded gangsters (in SHADOWS OF
> FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS).
>
> Anthropocentric? Still not quite right...
>
> Damien Broderick
--
sentience@pobox.com Eliezer S. Yudkowsky
http://pobox.com/~sentience/tmol-faq/meaningoflife.html
Running on BeOS Typing in Dvorak Programming with Patterns
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