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Highlights: #206 – Anil Seth on the predictive brain and how to study consciousness
Nov 15, 2024
Neuroscientist Anil Seth, director of the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science, dives deep into the intriguing world of consciousness. He discusses how our brains interpret reality and generate perceptions, shaping our emotional states. Seth also explores the fascinating relationship between psychedelics and consciousness, suggesting they distort rather than reveal deeper truths. He sheds light on the physical footprint of consciousness in the brain and how to study its neural correlates, making for a captivating discussion on the essence of being.
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Quick takeaways
- The brain interprets reality through predictions which can shift based on context, rather than simply receiving sensory information.
- Psychedelics provide unique insights into consciousness by illustrating the constructed nature of perception and challenging the brain's predictive processing.
Deep dives
Perception as Inference
The concept of perception emphasizes that the brain interprets color and reality based on context rather than simply receiving information. For example, an object's color can appear different depending on the ambient light, indicating that perception is an inferential process. This understanding aligns with historical philosophical ideas, such as those from Kant, suggesting that our experiences are shaped by our perceptions rather than direct access to reality. Modern theories like predictive coding further explore this, positing that what we consciously experience results from the brain's predictions about the external world, continually updated by incoming sensory information.
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