Automata

In the sense of this post, "automaton" is an abstract concept. It is not used such, that an element which can be explained by the automata concept, equals this concept. There is often large resistance to the idea that the working of minds or living processes in general can be explained by deductive reasoning, as by mathematical deduction of patterns. Still, it is my impression, that the concept of automata or virtual machines is very useful to predict certain patterns in our minds, or to explain the behavior of complicated, mechanical interactions, or to improve our use for processes in our "imagination" or learning. Daniel Dennett mentions that automata make the basic building blocks of our souls - although the resulting system is very complicated which maybe does not allow to use the automata concept for the soul itself. (Dennett: "Si, abbiamo un anima, ma e fatto di tanto picolo robots", "Yes, we have a soul, but is made from lots of tiny robots.") Marvin Minsky expresses the automata as agents or "ways to think" or "emotions".