That should not be the definition of purpose - if we are trying to be scientific. Martian scientists should come to the same conclusions.
"Purpose" - in this kind of context - could mean "goal directed" - or it could mean pursuing a goal with a mind that predicts the future. The former definition would label plants and rivers flowing downhill as purposeful - whereas the latter would not.
That should not be the definition of purpose - if we are trying to be scientific. Martian scientists should come to the same conclusions.
Do you mean that a Martian scientist would not conclude that when a human being uses that word, they are referring to a particular part of their brain that is being stimulated?
What I'm saying is that the notion of "purpose" is an interpretation we project onto the world: it is a characteristic of the map, not of the territory.
To put it another way, there are no purposeful things, only things that "look p...
Sweet, there's another Bloggingheads episode with Eliezer.
Bloggingheads: Robert Wright and Eliezer Yudkowsky: Science Saturday: Purposes and Futures