The Predictive Processing Hypothesis

Summary

Prediction may be central to understanding perception and cognition. Contemporary neuroscience formalizes this through probabilistic inference, unifying perception, action, attention, and learning as predictive processing in the brain. This chapter explains how predictive processing is inferential and representational, then explores its relation to enactive, embedded, embodied, and extended cognition (4E cognition). Although initially seeming too representational for 4E approaches, predictive processing actually encompasses many 4E phenomena while remaining inferential and representational.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Prediction may be a central concept for understanding perceptual and cognitive processing. Contemporary theoretical neuroscience formalizes the role of prediction in terms of probabilistic inference. Perception, action, attention, and learning may then be unified as aspects of predictive processing in the brain. This chapter first explains the sense in which predictive processing is inferential and representational. Then follows an exploration of how the predictive processing framework relates to a series of considerations in favor of enactive, embedded, embodied, and extended cognition (4E cognition). The initial impression may be that predictive processing is too representational and inferential to fit well to 4E cognition. But, in fact, predictive processing encompasses many phenomena prevalent in 4E approaches, while remaining both inferential and representational.