Picture of Karl Friston
Neuroscientists have developed many biological theories that attempt to explain how consciousness works. Some of these theories focus on how the brain is able to maintain stability. Karl Friston, for example, helped develop the Free Energy Principle, which details how the brain manages the element of surprise.
Friston worked to develop the Free Energy Principle to help him explain consciousness. Based on this principle, Friston defines consciousness as an experience of our interpretation of the world that is constantly being updated (Friston, 2010). The idea is that living beings attempt to minimize prediction error, or the difference between what an organism predicts about the world and the actual sensory input that they get (Friston, 2010). By minimizing prediction error, an organism makes it so that there is very little free energy, or uncertainty, in its interpretation of the world, allowing it to better adapt to its environment. In this way, consciousness originates from the integration of information from multiple brain regions that help an individual make sense of the world.
Friston's work has multiple implications for human life. For one, it suggests that our view of the world, which may be influenced by previous experiences or beliefs, can cause us to be surprised by what we see. It also suggests that our identity may evolve as we continuously learn more about our world and helps provide insight into how we can manage surprise so that we are not overwhelmed. Overall, Friston's Free Energy Principle offers a profound insight into how consciousness can relate to surprise.
References:
Friston, K. (2010). The free-energy principle: A unified brain theory? Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(2), 127–138. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2787
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