Virtual Machines

Virtual machines are computational organizations implemented by underlying systems. Dennett uses them as an analogy and theoretical resource for explaining higher-level cognitive organization; this does not establish that all mental phenomena are literally software.

A virtual machine is a computational organization implemented by another system. Its operations can be described at a level useful for understanding programs without listing every physical event in the hardware. Dennett draws on this idea to argue for the explanatory value of organized patterns and to propose an account of aspects of human cognition. The computational fact and the philosophical proposal should remain distinct.

Choose an explanatory level by the question. A software rule may explain a calculation error, while a failing component may explain random corruption; neither level makes the other unreal. In a cognitive or organizational analogy, identify which states, operations, and implementation relations are actually specified. Calling personality or culture software is not yet a model, and successful abstraction does not establish that every mental phenomenon has been explained.

When to use it

When an implemented system is easier to understand through higher-level operations, or when examining the limits of a computational analogy.

How it can help

Choose the explanatory level that addresses the question and connect it to implementation where necessary. Specify actual states and operations instead of relying only on a hardware–software metaphor.