Transcending Reductionism and Dualism: Philosophical Critique of Electronics and Engineering Vision for Brain-Mimicking Machines Under Moore's Law 2.0

Abstract

This article critiques the philosophical underpinnings of current electronics in Moore's Law 1.0, arguing that progress remains constrained by reductionist engineering and an implicit commitment to mind-body dualism. Despite advances in computational power, digital computation remains fundamentally mechanistic and fails to bridge the gap between physical process and subjective experience. Prevailing AI models further reinforce this limitation by neglecting critical aspects of intelligence, such as embodiment and neural plasticity, thereby failing to capture the brain's adaptive and integrative functions. To overcome these limitations, this article advocates for a philosophical shift: moving beyond computational materialism toward a neutral monistic framework that embraces emergent properties, embodied cognition, and the dynamic interplay between brain, body, and environment. This shift is not merely theoretical but carries profound engineering implications. Future progress in AI requires rethinking design principles from the ground up. Rather than focusing solely on operations at algorithmic level (software), intelligence must be encoded at transistor level (hardware) where cognition's emergent nature can be realized. Achieving this demands a cross-disciplinary effort. The recently proposed second paradigm of electronics, symbolized by Moore's Law 2.0, provides a necessary basis for this interdisciplinary collaboration. This paradigm shift is not a mere refinement but a fundamental reorientation, a long-standing necessity that can no longer be ignored. Contents