Predictive Minds

The Predictive Processing Theory of Mind is a recent theory developed by philosophers, cognitive scientists, and neuroscientists about the nature and function of the brain and its role in creating the conscious mind that we humans, and perhaps some non-human animals, have. The authors that advanced those lines of research believe that there is a fundamental idea that has been overlooked in the research done about the brain until the present: that the brain is a prediction machine with the function of creating hypotheses about the causes of our sensory signals and predictions of possible future sensory signals. Moreover, the internal models of the world created this way are constantly challenged by incorporating the errors of the previous models into new models. From this point of view, the brain's work could be described as a process of making predictions about the upcoming sensory data based on its best current models of the causes of those data. This book intends to critically analyze this theory and its subsequent theoretical and empirical consequences. To achieve that, the volume brings together some of the best experts on Predictive Processing – such as Thomas Metzinger, Wanja Wiese, or Mark Miller – with the goal of presenting some of the advantages of this approach but also some of its caveats.

Jakob Hohwy explores a new theory in neuroscience: the idea that the brain is essentially a hypothesis-testing mechanism that attempts to minimise the error of its predictions about sensory input. He explains the rich and multifaceted character of our conscious perception, and argues that the mind has a fragile, indirect relation to the world.

Key Term Application: quantum ('kwn-t?m\) n., pl. 1. A quantity or amount 2. Something that can be counted or measured 3. Physics. a. The smallest amount of a physical quantity that can exist independently, especially a discrete quantity of electromagnetic radiation b. This amount of energy regarded as a unit attributive. (The American Heritage Dictionary, p. 1480) Application to Workshop: Critical thinking is performed within the context of this mini-workshop; it is most similar to the research and development that transpires and takes place within a scientific research laboratory. That is, each and every interaction between participants, as well as the acquisition and facilitation of new and novel information, is contained and controlled, yet in a fashion that limitless participation is highly encouraged. In short, the overall breadth and depth of the information that is facilitated is a defined and specific amount or quality that is calculated, even calibrated and measured. Reference Source: The American Heritage Dictionary, 3rd ed. (New York, NY: Dell Publishing, 1994). ISBN: 0440219616. Foundational Concept: The Effective Fusion of Innovation with Execution! Structural Dynamics of Comprehensive Workshop The comprehensive workshop is comprised of three fundamental phases. The first phase, a.k.a. Phase I, is the Pine and Clay Phase. In short, it covers nothing more than the bare, yet vitally essential, nuts and bolts thereof; it is the most rudimentary elementary of all phases. The second phase, a.k.a. Phase II, is the Stone and Mortar Phase. In short, it covers the vital intricacies all applicable to a real-world context. Thus, it is the intermediate stage of critical thinking, change, development, and growth. It literally connects the dots and addresses the direct relevance it has regarding the utilization in the real world. The third and final phase, a.k.a. Phase III, is the Glass and Metal Phase. In short, it covers the cosmetics of critical thinking. It approaches critical thinking pertinent to the accessories thereof. Thus, it is the actual phase where each and every student makes CT their own. It directly correlates to each ones individually unique attributes and personality. In a meager nutshell, it is comprised accordingly: (1) Phase I, a.k.a. Clay and Pine Phase; (2) Phase II, a.k.a. Stone and Mortar Phase; (3) Phase III, a.k.a. Glass and Metal Phase. Workshop Description: Welcome to your Quantum Aca(ynaE)mics: A Critical Thinking Workshop, QCAD1501.E1 (Part I of III), with the underlying theme being Critical Thinking, the Vital Agent that Fuses Innovation with Execution. The chief underlying purpose for this course is to afford a smorgasbord of opportunities for engaging in critical research, critical assessment, and critical investigation pertinent to current academic theories, as well as real-world case examples. It also focuses on the growth and matriculation of ones limitless ability, capacity, and capability for engaging comprehensive and quasi-dimensional critical thinking (CT). Next, it endeavors to identify diverse explanations of individual differences in cognition (Robert & Ardes, 2010). Lastly, it is considered central to planning, problem-solving, evaluation, and many [divergent] aspects of language learning (Kearsley, 20042010).

A new theory is taking hold in neuroscience. It is the theory that the brain is essentially a hypothesis-testing mechanism, one that attempts to minimise the error of its predictions about the sensory input it receives from the world. It is an attractive theory because powerful theoretical arguments support it, and yet it is at heart stunningly simple. Jakob Hohwy explains and explores this theory from the perspective of cognitive science and philosophy. The key argument throughout The Predictive Mind is that the mechanism explains the rich, deep, and multifaceted character of our conscious perception. It also gives a unified account of how perception is sculpted by attention, and how it depends on action. The mind is revealed as having a fragile and indirect relation to the world. Though we are deeply in tune with the world we are also strangely distanced from it. The first part of the book sets out how the theory enables rich, layered perception. The theory's probabilistic and statistical foundations are explained using examples from empirical research and analogies to different forms of inference. The second part uses the simple mechanism in an explanation of problematic cases of how we manage to represent, and sometimes misrepresent, the world in health as well as in mental illness. The third part looks into the mind, and shows how the theory accounts for attention, conscious unity, introspection, self and the privacy of our mental world.

Andy Clark is a leading philosopher of cognitive science, whose work has had an extraordinary impact throughout philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and robotics. His monographs have led the way for new research programs in the philosophy of mind and cognition: Microcognition (1989) and Associative Engines (1993) introduced the philosophical community to connectionist research and the novel issues it raised; Being There (1997) showed the relevance of embodiment, dynamical systems theory, and minimal computation frameworks for the study of the mind; Natural Born Cyborgs (OUP 2003) presented an accessible development of embodied and embedded approaches to understanding human nature and cognition; Supersizing the Mind (OUP 2008) developed this yet further along with the famous "Extended Mind" hypothesis; and Surfing Uncertainty (OUP 2017) presents a framework for uniting perception, action, and the embodied mind. In Andy Clark and His Critics, a range of high-profile researchers in philosophy of mind, philosophy of cognitive science, and empirical cognitive science, critically engage with Clark's work across the themes of: Extended, Embodied, Embedded, Enactive, and Affective Minds; Natural Born Cyborgs; and Perception, Action, and Prediction. Daniel Dennett provides a foreword on the significance of Clark's work, and Clark replies to each section of the book, thus advancing current literature with original contributions that will form the basis for new discussions, debates and directions in the discipline.

An accessible and engaging account of the mind and its connection to the brain. The mind encompasses everything we experience, and these experiences are created by the brain--often without our awareness. Experience is private; we can't know the minds of others. But we also don't know what is happening in our own minds. In this book, E. Bruce Goldstein offers an accessible and engaging account of the mind and its connection to the brain. He takes as his starting point two central questions--what is the mind? and what is consciousness?--and leads readers through topics that range from conceptions of the mind in popular culture to the wiring system of the brain. Throughout, he draws on the latest research, explaining its significance and relevance.

This title brings together work on embodiment, action, and the predictive mind. At the core is the vision of human minds as prediction machines - devices that constantly try to stay one step ahead of the breaking waves of sensory stimulation, by actively predicting the incoming flow. In every situation we encounter, that complex prediction machinery is already buzzing, proactively trying to anticipate the sensory barrage. The book shows in detail how this strange but potent strategy of self-anticipation ushers perception, understanding, and imagination simultaneously onto the cognitive stage.

In this jointly authored book, Kirchhoff and Kiverstein defend the controversial thesis that phenomenal consciousness is realised by more than just the brain. They argue that the mechanisms and processes that realise phenomenal consciousness can at times extend across brain, body, and the social, material, and cultural world. Kirchhoff and Kiverstein offer a state-of-the-art tour of current arguments for and against extended consciousness. They aim to persuade you that it is possible to develop and defend the thesis of extended consciousness through the increasingly influential predictive processing theory developed in cognitive neuroscience. They show how predictive processing can be given a new reading as part of a third-wave account of the extended mind. The third-wave claims that the boundaries of mind are not fixed and stable but fragile and hard-won, and always open to negotiation. It calls into question any separation of the biological from the social and cultural when thinking about the boundaries of the mind. Kirchhoff and Kiverstein show how this account of the mind finds support in predictive processing, leading them to a view of phenomenal consciousness as partially realised by patterns of cultural practice.