Thomas Aquinas College Lectures & Talks How Minds Know - Mind and Machine Episode 3
Dec 25, 2025
This episode explores the essence of knowledge through classical philosophy. It argues why philosophical definitions of knowing trump dictionary meanings. The conversation delves into Aquinas' terms like powers and acts, introducing important distinctions between types of operations. The host examines cognitive beings versus non-cognitive beings and how understanding differs from mere sensing. Finally, it raises the intriguing question: can AI truly think, or is it limited to mere simulations of cognition?
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Dictionaries Don’t Explain Knowing
- Michael Agros argues dictionaries are circular and insufficient for defining cognitive acts like knowing.
- Philosophy must analyze knowing into genus and differences to reveal its true nature beyond usage.
Powers, Acts, And Objects Are Relational
- Aquinas frames powers, acts, and objects as relational: an object is what a power is directed toward.
- A power exists for its act, and acts define powers by their specific operations.
Agents Act Through Relevant Actuality
- Aquinas' rule: every agent acts insofar as it is actual in a way relevant to that action.
- Therefore agents produce effects resembling the actuality they already possess.