Author Description
How Is It That Thoroughly Physical Material Beings Such As Ourselves Can Think, Dream, Feel, Create And Understand Ideas, Theories And Concepts? How Does Mere Matter Give Rise To All These Non-material Mental States, Including Consciousness Itself? An Answer To This Central Question Of Our Existence Is Emerging At The Busy Intersection Of Neuroscience, Psychology, Artificial Intelligence, And Robotics. In This Groundbreaking Work, Philosopher And Cognitive Scientist Andy Clark Explores Exciting New Theories From These Fields That Reveal Minds Like Ours To Be Prediction Machines - Devices That Have Evolved To Anticipate The Incoming Streams Of Sensory Stimulation Before They Arrive. These Predictions Then Initiate Actions That Structure Our Worlds And Alter The Very Things We Need To Engage And Predict. Clark Takes Us On A Journey In Discovering The Circular Causal Flows And The Self-structuring Of The Environment That Define The Predictive Brain. What Emerges Is A Bold, New, Cutting-edge Vision That Reveals The Brain As Our Driving Force In The Daily Surf Through The Waves Of Sensory Stimulation.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
How does the physical brain generate non-material mental states such as consciousness, thought, and creativity? Andy Clark, a philosopher and cognitive scientist, synthesizes research from neuroscience, psychology, and robotics to argue that the human brain functions as a prediction machine. He posits that minds evolve to anticipate sensory input, initiating actions that actively structure the environment to facilitate further prediction.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- The predictive processing framework of brain function
- Analysis of circular causal flows between brain and environment
- Integration of robotics and artificial intelligence research
- Examination of sensory stimulation and anticipatory cognition
Scope Limits
- Does not provide a comprehensive history of dualist philosophy
- Does not offer a clinical manual for neurological disorders
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts recognize this work as a significant contribution to the predictive processing literature, noting its ability to bridge complex philosophical questions with empirical scientific data. Readers frequently observe that the text requires a foundational understanding of cognitive science to fully grasp the technical arguments presented.
Page Count:
304
Publication Date:
2015-01-01
ISBN-10:
0190217022
ISBN-13:
9780190217020
Psychology
Philosophy of
Neuroscience