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This study explores how predictive processing theories explain desire. It proposes that prioritized predictions, termed "first priors," drive affective sense-making and motivate action by shaping environmental perception.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Neuroscience
  • Philosophy of Mind

Background:

  • Predictive processing theories posit hierarchical models for prediction-error minimization.
  • A philosophical challenge exists in reconciling belief-like predictions with the motivational role of desire.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose "first priors" as prioritized predictions within the predictive processing hierarchy.
  • To elucidate the role of affective sense-making in motivating action through predictive processing.
  • To bridge phenomenological and ecological-enactive analyses of desire.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of predictive processing theories.
  • Integration of "first priors" into the predictive processing framework.
  • Exploration of affective sense-making and precision-weighting mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • First priors facilitate affective sense-making, providing a neurocomputational basis for desire.
  • Affective sense-making influences precision-weighting, modulating the reliability of predictions.
  • Desire shapes perception, framing the environment as a field of affordances.

Conclusions:

  • Predictive processing offers a framework for understanding desire as a neurocomputational process.
  • Affective sense-making is crucial for linking predictive models to motivated action.
  • This approach integrates subjective experience with objective analysis of desire.