Abstract: The nature of subjective experience is a central puzzle in consciousness research. This paper proposes the "Evolutionary Valence Labeling Theory" (EVLT), arguing that subjective experience is a labeling system shaped by natural selection, whose function is to assign valence labels (good/bad, approach/avoid) to stimuli relevant to survival and reproduction. Neonates' innate reactions...
AbstractPredictive Processing (PP) is a dominant framework in contemporary cognitive science for explaining perception and attention. This paper argues that a foundational premise of PP — that the brain continuously predicts future states to organize perception — is false, due to both logical and physical impossibilities.Logically, accurately predicting the future state of a system that...