Consciousness in active inference: Deep self-models, other minds, and the challenge of psychedelic-induced ego-dissolution.
Neuroscience of Consciousness 2021 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niab024 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Ego dissolution |
| Keywords | Active inference Consciousness Predictive processing Psychedelics Self |
| Citations | 38 |
| Key points | Argues that phenomenal consciousness is underpinned by 'subjective valuation', a deep inference about the precision of self-evidencing action outcomes, and that psychedelic-induced ego-dissolution does not undermine this active inference theory of consciousness. |
Abstract
Predictive processing approaches to brain function are increasingly delivering promise for illuminating the computational underpinnings of a wide range of phenomenological states. It remains unclear, however, whether predictive processing is equipped to accommodate a theory of consciousness itself. Furthermore, objectors have argued that without specification of the core computational mechanisms of consciousness, predictive processing is unable to inform the attribution of consciousness to other non-human (biological and artificial) systems. In this paper, I argue that an account of consciousness in the predictive brain is within reach via recent accounts of phenomenal self-modelling in the active inference framework. The central claim here is that phenomenal consciousness is underpinned by 'subjective valuation'-a deep inference about the precision or 'predictability' of the self-evidencing ('fitness-promoting') outcomes of action. Based on this account, I argue that this approach can critically inform the distribution of experience in other systems, paying particular attention to the complex sensory attenuation mechanisms associated with deep self-models. I then consider an objection to the account: several recent papers argue that theories of consciousness that invoke self-consciousness as constitutive or necessary for consciousness are undermined by states (or traits) of 'selflessness'; in particular the 'totally selfless' states of ego-dissolution occasioned by psychedelic drugs. Drawing on existing work that accounts for psychedelic-induced ego-dissolution in the active inference framework, I argue that these states do not threaten to undermine an active inference theory of consciousness. Instead, these accounts corroborate the view that subjective valuation is the constitutive facet of experience, and they highlight the potential of psychedelic research to inform consciousness science, computational psychiatry and computational phenomenology.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on ego dissolution, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self unbound: ego dissolution in psychedelic experience | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ethics and ego dissolution: the case of psilocybin | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mystical and Other Alterations in Sense of Self: An Expanded Framework for Studying Nonordinary Experiences | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psychedelic medicalization, public discourse, and the morality of ego dissolution | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 16
- The ego in psychedelic drug action – ego defenses, ego boundaries, and the therapeutic role of regression Frontiers in Neuroscience October 6, 2023
- Forgetting ourselves in flow: an active inference account of flow states and how we experience ourselves within them Frontiers in Psychology June 3, 2024
- An integrative control theory perspective on consciousness. Psychological Review July 5, 2022
- A beautiful loop: An active inference theory of consciousness. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews September 1, 2025
- The computational unconscious: Adaptive narrative control, psychopathology, and subjective well-being
and 11 more in the library
Cites 38
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
- Active interoceptive inference and the emotional brain Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences October 11, 2016
- Psychedelics, Meditation, and Self-Consciousness Frontiers in Psychology September 4, 2018
- Thinking through other minds: A variational approach to cognition and culture. Behavioral and Brain Sciences May 30, 2019
- Finding the self by losing the self: Neural correlates of ego-dissolution under psilocybin Human Brain Mapping May 22, 2015
and 33 more in the library