Being a Beast Machine: The Somatic Basis of Selfhood.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences November 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.08.008 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Allostasis Embodied selfhood Free energy principle Interoception Predictive processing |
| Key points | Argues that embodied selfhood can be described as 'instrumental interoceptive inference' emphasizing allostatic regulation and physiological integrity, and that this predictive processing account explains the non-object-like character and subjective stability of embodied selfhood. Contends, contrary to Descartes, that experiences of embodied selfhood arise because of, not in spite of, our nature as 'beast machines'. |
Abstract
Modern psychology has long focused on the body as the basis of the self. Recently, predictive processing accounts of interoception (perception of the body 'from within') have become influential in accounting for experiences of body ownership and emotion. Here, we describe embodied selfhood in terms of 'instrumental interoceptive inference' that emphasises allostatic regulation and physiological integrity. We apply this approach to the distinctive phenomenology of embodied selfhood, accounting for its non-object-like character and subjective stability over time. Our perspective has implications for the development of selfhood and illuminates longstanding debates about relations between life and mind, implying, contrary to Descartes, that experiences of embodied selfhood arise because of, and not in spite of, our nature as 'beast machines'.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 81
- Theories of consciousness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience July 1, 2022
- Predictive processing as a systematic basis for identifying the neural correlates of consciousness Philosophy and the Mind Sciences December 30, 2020
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to Neurophenomenology - The Case of Studying Self Boundaries With Meditators. Frontiers in Psychology 2020
- In the Body’s Eye: The Computational Anatomy of Interoceptive Inference bioRxiv Preprint Server April 10, 2019
- The first prior: From co-embodiment to co-homeostasis in early life. Consciousness and Cognition May 1, 2021
and 76 more in the library
Cites 14
- Interoceptive inference, emotion, and the embodied self Trends in Cognitive Sciences October 12, 2013
- An Interoceptive Predictive Coding Model of Conscious Presence Frontiers in Psychology 2012
- Active interoceptive inference and the emotional brain Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences October 11, 2016
- Multisensory integration across exteroceptive and interoceptive domains modulates self-experience in the rubber-hand illusion Neuropsychologia August 28, 2013
- From cognitivism to autopoiesis: towards a computational framework for the embodied mind. Synthese 2018
and 9 more in the library