Ebook: Prerational Intelligence: Adaptive Behavior and Intelligent Systems Without Symbols and Logic, Volume 1, Volume 2 Prerational Intelligence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Behavior of Natural and Artificial Systems, Volume 3

The present book is the product of conferences held in Bielefeld at the Center for interdisciplinary Sturlies (ZiF) in connection with a year-long ZiF Research Group with the theme "Prerational intelligence". The premise ex­ plored by the research group is that traditional notions of intelligent behav­ ior, which form the basis for much work in artificial intelligence and cog­ nitive science, presuppose many basic capabilities which are not trivial, as more recent work in robotics and neuroscience has shown, and that these capabilities may be best understood as ernerging from interaction and coop­ eration in systems of simple agents, elements that accept inputs from and act upon their surroundings. The main focus is on the way animals and artificial systems process in­ formation about their surroundings in order to move and act adaptively. The analysis of the collective properties of systems of interacting agents, how­ ever, is a problern that occurs repeatedly in many disciplines. Therefore, contributions from a wide variety of areas have been included in order to obtain a broad overview of phenomena that demoostrate complexity arising from simple interactions or can be described as adaptive behavior arising from the collective action of groups of agents. To this end we have invited contributions on topics ranging from the development of complex structures and functions in systems ranging from cellular automata, genetic codes, and neural connectivity to social behavior and evolution. Additional contribu­ tions discuss traditional concepts of intelligence and adaptive behavior. 1.

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The focus of prerational intelligence is on the way animals and artificial systems utilise information about their surroundings in order to behave intelligently; the premise is that logic and symbolic reasoning are neither necessary nor, possibly, sufficient. Experts in the fields of biology, psychology, robotics, AI, mathematics, engineering, computer science, and philosophy review the evidence that intelligent behaviour can arise in systems of simple agents interacting according to simple rules; that self-organisation and interaction with the environment are critical; and that quick approximations may replace logical analyses. It is argued that a better understanding of the intelligence inherent in procedure like those illustrated will eventually shed light on how rational intelligence is realised in humans.
Readership: Scientifically literate general readers and scientists in all fields interested in understanding and duplicating biological intelligence.