computationalism

Computationalism is the idea that the mind works like a computer, processing information through a system of symbols and rules. It suggests that mental states—thoughts, memories, feelings—are like software programs running on the brain’s hardware. This view sees cognition as the manipulation of symbol-based representations, similar to how a computer processes data. In essence, computationalism posits that our mental functions can be understood as complex computational processes, allowing us to analyze and model the mind's functions using the principles of computation.