Penrose-Lucas argument

proper noun

An argument based on Gödel's incompleteness theorem, suggesting that the human mind cannot be computed on a Turing machine that works on Peano arithmetic because the latter cannot see the truth value of its Gödel sentence, while a human mind can.

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Meanings

proper nounthe Penrose-Lucas argument

alternative Lucas-Penrose argument

  1. An argument based on Gödel's incompleteness theorem, suggesting that the human mind cannot be computed on a Turing machine that works on Peano arithmetic because the latter cannot see the truth value of its Gödel sentence, while a human mind can.

Origin

Named after philosophers John Lucas and Roger Penrose.

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Cite this entry
APA

Penrose-Lucas argument. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Penrose-Lucas%20argument

MLA

“Penrose-Lucas argument.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Penrose-Lucas%20argument. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Penrose-Lucas argument,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Penrose-Lucas%20argument.

Source: Penrose-Lucas argument on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.