tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522311.post3555085019877361357..comments2024-03-12T03:23:42.976-04:00Comments on NeuroDojo: Nobody knows what behaviour isZen Faulkeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07811309183398223358noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522311.post-439923432812083622009-06-10T13:57:15.378-04:002009-06-10T13:57:15.378-04:00I'm not sure you can draw a firm line anywhere...I'm not sure you can draw a firm line anywhere between cellular and organismal behavior. The actions of an individual cell are cellular behavior, but organismal development is an emergent phenomanon of many cells behaving. So is the concatination of neural activity that drives action at the organismal level.<br /><br />Would you define the "movement" of an asteroid through space as "behavior"? A thrown rock? If not, I doubt you could say that "behavior is movement". As for behavior "always involving movement", what about freezing in panic?<br /><br />I'd define "behavior" as a change of state initiated by the object doing the "behaving". (Consider Kuhn's observation that pre-Neuton, motion was considered a change of state, but not after. Most of the "motion" involved in "behavior" is also a change of state. And, yes, I realize that "continuing to stay frozen in panic" could be defined a "not a change in state", but that depends on whether you define panic as a state without an automatic end-point.)AKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10905636789614137068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522311.post-7313621991603591262009-06-09T18:02:02.147-04:002009-06-09T18:02:02.147-04:00I don't find this all that surprising. It'...I don't find this all that surprising. It's surprisingly difficult to define most words. The philosopher Wittgenstein famously asked what the definition of a "game" is (i.e. what it is about games, and only games, that makes them "games"). You'd think it would be easy, but try it...Neuroskeptichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06647064768789308157noreply@blogger.com