The Physics of Sentience

Abstract: how can we understand ourselves as sentient creatures? And what are the principles that underwrite sentient behavior? This presentation uses the free energy principle to furnish an account in terms of active inference. First, we will try to understand sentience from the point of view of physics; in particular, the properties that self-organizing systems—that distinguish themselves from their lived world—must possess. This formulation is based on the following arguments: if a system can be differentiated from its external milieu, then its internal and external states must be conditionally independent. Crucially, this independence equips internal states with an information geometry, pertaining to probabilistic beliefs about something; namely external states. In short, internal states will appear to infer—and act on—their world to preserve their integrity. This leads to a Bayesian mechanics, which can be neatly summarized as self-evidencing. In the second half of the talk, we will unpack these ideas using constructs from neurobiology — and simulations of Bayesian belief updating in the brain.

Key words: active inference ∙ autopoiesis ∙ cognitive ∙ dynamics ∙ free energy ∙ self-organization.