What is neurorepresentationalism? From neural activity and predictive processing to multi-level representations and...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Philosophy of Mind

Background:

• Neurorepresentationalism posits conscious experience arises from multimodal, situational surveys.
• Consciousness is characterized by richness, situatedness, unity, dynamics, and intentionality.
• A biological function of consciousness is proposed, contrasting goal-directed behavior with unconscious reflexes/habits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an updated review of Neurorepresentationalism.
• To explore the neural basis of consciousness through predictive processing models.
• To propose a solution to the Hard Problem of consciousness using multi-level representations.

Main Methods:

• Review of theoretical framework and existing literature on Neurorepresentationalism.
• Integration of predictive processing models and deep neural networks.
• Proposal of multi-level representations to explain phenomenal experience.

Main Results:

• Conscious experience is a sensorily rich, spatially encompassing representation of body and environment.
• Predictive processing models offer insights into neural mechanisms but do not fully explain phenomenal experience.
• Multi-level representations are proposed to emergently yield multimodal superinferences corresponding to phenomenal experiences.

Conclusions:

• Neurorepresentationalism offers a framework for understanding consciousness and its neural underpinnings.
• The proposed multi-level representation concept addresses the Hard Problem of consciousness.
• The theory has implications for identifying consciousness indicators across diverse entities.