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Answering Schrödinger's question: A free-energy formulation.
Maxwell James Désormeau Ramstead1, Paul Benjamin Badcock2, Karl John Friston3
1Department of Philosophy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Physics of Life Reviews
|October 15, 2017
Summary
The free-energy principle (FEP) explains brain function and living systems. This review integrates FEP with variational neuroethology for a unified biological systems theory and research guide.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Theoretical Biology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- The free-energy principle (FEP) is a unifying theory in neuroscience for brain and behavior.
- FEP has been extended to explain the dynamics and self-organization of living systems.
- Existing frameworks lack integration across biological scales.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize advances in FEP with variational neuroethology.
- To provide a meta-theoretical ontology for biological systems.
- To establish a research heuristic for biological, cognitive, and social sciences.
Main Methods:
- Review and synthesis of FEP literature.
- Integration of FEP with Tinbergen's four research questions.
- Application of the framework to Homo sapiens.
Main Results:
- A unified framework, variational neuroethology, is proposed.
- The framework integrates FEP across spatial and temporal scales.
- A computationally tractable research heuristic is derived.
Conclusions:
- Variational neuroethology offers a comprehensive approach to understanding biological systems.
- The framework bridges neuroscience, biology, and ethology.
- It provides a guide for future interdisciplinary research and discovery.
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