Practopoiesis: or how life fosters a mind

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Artificial Intelligence

Background:

• The mind is a biological phenomenon governed by biological principles of organization.
• Practopoiesis theory posits that intelligence arises from hierarchical organization and adaptation.
• Existing models explain intelligence through neural plasticity and neural activity traverses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the sufficiency of current traverses in explaining human mental capabilities.
• To propose a new traverse, anapoiesis, to account for knowledge reconstruction.
• To explore implications for brain theory, the mind-body problem, and AI.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis of organizational principles in biological systems.
• Examination of existing traverses (neural plasticity, neural activity) within the practopoietic framework.
• Introduction and definition of the anapoiesis traverse.

Main Results:

• Neural plasticity and neural activity traverses alone are insufficient to explain human mental capabilities.
• An additional traverse, anapoiesis, is required for reconstructing knowledge (e.g., long-term to working memory).
• Increased number of traverses enhances a system's adaptability and intelligence relative to its size.

Conclusions:

• Human cognition likely involves at least three key traverses: neural plasticity, neural activity, and anapoiesis.
• The practopoietic framework offers a unified explanation for biological intelligence and adaptability.
• Findings have significant implications for understanding the mind-body gap and advancing artificial intelligence.