Victor Tausk (1879-1919): On the Origin of the "Influencing Machine" in Schizophrenia

mystical, diabolical machine

war-induced psychoses

Machinic unconscious

N. Katherine Hayles: Unthought

nonconscious cognitive processes common for biological, human and technical systems

Cognition understood as a much broader capacity than consciousness: extends far beyond consciousness into other neurological brain processes; it is also pervasive in other life forms and complex technical systems. In this view cognition is not limited to humans or organisms with consciousness; it extends to all life- forms, including those lacking central nervous systems, such as plants and microorganisms.

“Like human nonconscious cognition, technical cognition processes information faster than consciousness, discerns patterns and draws inferences and, for state- aware systems, processes inputs from subsystems that give information on the system’s condition and functioning. Moreover, technical cognitions are designed specifically to keep human consciousness from being overwhelmed by massive informational streams so large, complex, and multifaceted that they could never be processed by human brains. These parallels are not accidental.”

Cognition is a process: this implies that cognition is not an attribute, such as intelligence is sometimes considered to be, but rather a dynamic unfolding within an environment in which its activity makes a difference. For example, a computer algorithm, written as instructions on paper, is not itself cognitive, for it becomes a process only when instantiated in a platform capable of understanding the instruction set and carrying it out. That interprets information: interpretation implies a choice. (...) Choice here, of course, does not imply “free will” but rather programmatic decisions among alternative courses of action, much as a tree moving its leaves to maximize sunlight does not imply free will but rather the implementation of behaviors programmed into the genetic code.