Michael Levin & Franz Kuchling ~ Active Inference Insights 015 ~ Morphogenesis, Selfhood, Teleonomy
May 5, 2024
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Biologists Michael Levin & Franz Kuchling discuss morphogenesis, selfhood, and teleonomy. They explore how cells navigate complexities in achieving target morphology, beliefs and agency in active inference, metamorphosis in caterpillars, neuropsychospin, and bioelectricity in biological systems.
Biological systems navigate morphospace to achieve target morphology resiliently.
Selfhood involves internal view for controlling parts and achieving goals.
Various systems beyond neurons contribute to adaptive control and self-organization.
Bioelectricity in biological systems facilitates information representation and system integration effectively.
Deep dives
Understanding Morphogenesis and Self-Assembly in Biological Systems
Morphogenesis, the process where complex shape and structure self-assemble, is crucial in development and regeneration. Dr. Michael Levin highlights the remarkable ability of biological systems to achieve target morphology despite various perturbations. Through a process of collective intelligence, cells navigate a morphospace to reach desired outcomes, showcasing an adaptive and resilient nature in biological self-construction.
Exploring Navigation as a Fundamental Concept in Morphogenesis
Navigation plays a key role in morphogenesis, with biological systems exhibiting competencies to reach their target morphology even in the face of environmental changes or disruptions. The concept of morphospace allows for the creation of testable hypotheses about the policies involved in the self-organizing process. Dr. Levin and colleagues emphasize the importance of understanding how systems navigate diverse morphologies to achieve their goals.
The Significance of Selfhood and Hierarchy in Cognitive Systems
The idea of selfhood involves a system's internal view about its own boundaries, space, sensors, and effectors, crucial for controlling its parts and achieving goals. Dr. Levin discusses the importance of cognitive light cones in comparing agents of diverse structures. Considerations of memory continuity, remapping information, and hierarchy within cognitive systems highlight the complex nature of selfhood.
Challenging Neural Bias and Recognizing Multi-Scale Control in Biological Self-Organization
Dr. Levin and partners challenge the neural bias in cognitive science, emphasizing the role of various systems beyond neurons in adaptive control and self-organization. The immune system, alongside neural structures, contributes to overarching cognitive processes. The importance lies in recognizing the continuity and diverse contributions to complex biological functions.
Reflecting on Consciousness and the Realization of Morphogenesis in Non-Neural Systems
While consciousness is often tied to the brain, the discussion extends to the potential for distributed consciousness among diverse body systems. The notion of consciousness in non-neural structures prompts a reevaluation of multiple realizability in support of self-organization and morphogenesis. Considering the existence of life force and adaptability in various systems challenges traditional concepts of consciousness and biological function.
Importance of Self-Organization in Non-Carbon Based Systems
The podcast delves into the concept of self-organization in non-carbon based systems and questions why certain entities resist entropy. It raises the idea of an added ingredient necessary for non-carbon systems to self-organize effectively. Using examples like robots and liver cells, it discusses the significance of evolveability in driving self-organization and maximizing agency within environments.
Bioelectricity as a Key Element in Regeneration and Functionality
The episode explores the role of bioelectricity in biological systems, emphasizing its importance in information representation and function integration across space and time. It distinguishes bioelectricity as a modality conducive to feedback loops and functional system integration. Examples from bacterial biofilms highlight the use of electrical signaling for collective dynamics. The discussion also touches upon how bioelectricity enables systems to function across different scales and modulates behavior effectively.
Today’s episode is a voyage into space. Well, morph-space. Tune in to learn about morphogenesis, cellular teleonomy and planaria from groundbreaking biologists Michael Levin and Franz Kuchling. Together with Darius, they also explore fundamental questions of selfhood and autonomy, all from a biological perspective.
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