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On the Self-Organizing Origins of Agency.

J A Scott Kelso

Trends in Cognitive Sciences May 18, 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2016.04.004 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Population Human infants
Keywords Humans Cognition Models, psychological Phase transition Synchrony Positive feedback Consciousness Agent Emergence Coordination dynamics Metastability Collective variables
Key points Proposes that the birth of agency is a eureka-like, pattern-forming phase transition in which an infant suddenly realizes it can make things happen in the world. The mechanism is positive feedback: perceived consequences of spontaneous movements suddenly and persistently amplify further actions, so the baby discovers itself as a causal agent.

Abstract

The question of agency and directedness in living systems has puzzled philosophers and scientists for centuries. What principles and mechanisms underlie the emergence of agency? Analysis and dynamical modeling of experiments on human infants suggest that the birth of agency is due to a eureka-like, pattern-forming phase transition in which the infant suddenly realizes it can make things happen in the world. The main mechanism involves positive feedback: when the baby's initially spontaneous movements cause the world to change, their perceived consequences have a sudden and sustained amplifying effect on the baby's further actions. The baby discovers itself as a causal agent. Some implications of this theory are discussed.

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