BUT IS WHAT SEARLE SAID TRUE OF COMPUTERS? o As many of searle's critics(e.g. Cole 1984, Dennett 1987, Boden 1988, and Chalmers 1996) have noted, a computer running a program is not the same as syntax alone". A computer is a causal system that changes state in accord with a program. The states are syntactically specified by programmers, but they are fundamentally states of a complex causal system embedded in the real world. This is quite different from the abstract formal systems that logicians study. Dennett notes that no "computer program by itself (Searle,s language)e.g. a program lying on a shelf- can cause anything, even simple addition, let alone mental states. The program must be runningBUT IS WHAT SEARLE SAID TRUE OF COMPUTERS?  As many of Searle‘s critics (e.g. Cole 1984, Dennett 1987, Boden 1988, and Chalmers 1996) have noted, a computer running a program is not the same as “syntax alone”. A computer is a causal system that changes state in accord with a program. The states are syntactically specified by programmers, but they are fundamentally states of a complex causal system embedded in the real world. This is quite different from the abstract formal systems that logicians study. Dennett notes that no “computer program by itself” (Searle’s language)—e.g. a program lying on a shelf— can cause anything, even simple addition, let alone mental states. The program must be running