'Seeing the Dark': Grounding Phenomenal Transparency and Opacity in Precision Estimation for Active Inference

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Philosophy of Mind
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• The Self-model Theory of Subjectivity posits that subjective experience arises from a transparent phenomenal self-model reducible to brain processes.
• Distinguishing between phenomenally transparent and opaque states is crucial for understanding consciousness and selfhood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the distinction between phenomenally transparent and opaque states within the framework of active inference.
• To propose a novel relationship between phenomenal opacity, expected uncertainty, and introspective attention.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing active inference principles to model phenomenal transparency and opacity.
• Associating phenomenal opacity with the deployment of 'precision' for introspective attention.
• Defining transparency in relation to beliefs about action and self-agency.

Main Results:

• Phenomenal opacity is proposed to correlate with expected uncertainty or precision, enabling introspective attention.
• Introspective attention is linked to the use of precision, potentially making perceptual evidence opaque.
• Transparency is characterized as a fundamental aspect of beliefs concerning one's own actions.

Conclusions:

• Active inference offers a framework to differentiate between phenomenal transparency and opacity.
• A nuanced understanding of minimal phenomenal selfhood and agency is required, informed by this active inference conception.
• The study suggests that the capacity for introspection and the nature of self-models are key to understanding subjective experience.