An Exploration of Representational Complexity via Coupled Oscillator Systems

We note some inconsistencies in a view of representation which takes decoupling to be of key importance. We explore these inconsistencies using examples of representational vehicles taken from coupled oscillator theory and suggest a new way to reconcile coupling with absence. Finally, we tie these views to a teleological denition of representation. Introduction A recent wave of interest in anti-representationalism (Brooks (1991), Beer & Gallagher (1992), van Gelder & Port (1995), van Gelder (1995), to name just a few) has changed the tenor of recent writings on representation: the debate has changed, in part at least, from being about how to determine the content of representations to a debate about what it is to be a representation in the rst place. There have been two primary types of account of representation in this debate: teleological definitions and denitions based on \decoupling". In this paper, we note some inconsistencies in the \decoupling" view of representation ..