What might interoceptive inference reveal about consciousness?
Review of Philosophy and Psychology August 14, 2021 N. Nikolova, Peter Thestrup Waade, K. Friston et al.
The mainstream science of consciousness includes several prominent theories about how the brain produces awareness, such as Higher Order Thought Theory, Global Neuronal Workspace Theory, and Integrated Information Theory. Meanwhile, predictive processing approaches are providing concrete mechanisms for how interoceptive inference shapes selfhood, affect, and perception. This work examines what these newer approaches can contribute to empirical, phenomenological, and philosophical understanding of consciousness and its neurobiological foundations.