Designs on consciousness: literature and predictive processing.

Predictive processing describes the brain as an engine of probabilistic hierarchical inference. This article extends that framework to consciousness by drawing on literary engagement, showing how literature can illuminate qualia, counterfactual depth in conscious experience, and sense of self. The author proposes that literature functions as a designer environment for exploring and rethinking consciousness, not merely a source of illustrative examples, and suggests theoretical questions for experimental designs using literature as a source of hypotheses.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Predictive processing is a recent approach in cognitive science that describes the brain as an engine of probabilistic hierarchical inference. Initially proposed as a general theory of brain function, predictive processing has recently been expanding to account for questions of consciousness in philosophy and neuroscience. In my previous work (Kukkonen 2020 Probability designs: literature and predictive processing. New York, NY: Oxford University Press), I have shown how predictive processing can also be used to model our engagement with literary texts. In this article, I use my account of our engagement with literature in predictive processing terms, as well as recent work on predictive processing and consciousness, to explore how literature can shed light on various aspects of conscious experience, including qualia, counterfactual depth in conscious experience and sense of self. In the final section, I propose a number of theoretical questions that could be addressed by drawing on literature as a source of hypotheses and stimuli for possible experimental designs. The upshot is a picture where literature is not just a source of illustrative examples about conscious experience, but a designer environment through which we can explore and rethink consciousness. This article is part of the theme issue 'Art, aesthetics and predictive processing: theoretical and empirical perspectives'.