Subjectivity as a sentient perspective and the role of interoception

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena De Preester
Keyword(s):  
Crucial Role ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Basic Form ◽  
Bodily States ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Phenomenological Point

This chapter argues that the most basic form of subjectivity is different from and more fundamental than having a self, and forwards a hypothesis about the origin of subjectivity in terms of interoception. None of those topics are new, and a consensus concerning the homeostatic-interoceptive origin of subjectivity is rapidly growing in the domains of the neurosciences and psychology. This chapter critically explores that growing consensus, and it argues that the idea that the brain topographically represents bodily states is unfit for thinking about the coming about of subjectivity. In the first part, four inherent characteristics of subjectivity are discussed from a philosophical phenomenological point of view. The second part explores whether a model of subjectivity in which interoception maintains its crucial role is possible without relying on topographical representations of the in-depth body, and giving due to the inherent characteristics of subjectivity.

Unveiling the Cognitive Mechanisms of Eyes

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingxu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Brain Science ◽  
Internal Memory ◽  
Cognitive Knowledge ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Brain

Eyes as the unique organ possess intensively direct connections to the brain and dynamically perceptual accessibility to the mind. This paper analyzes the cognitive mechanisms of eyes not only as the sensory of vision, but also the browser of internal memory in thinking and perception. The browse function of eyes is created by abstract conditioning of the eye's tracking pathway for accessing internal memories, which enables eye movements to function as the driver of the perceptive thinking engine of the brain. The dual mechanisms of the eyes as both the external sensor of the brain and the internal browser of the mind are explained based on evidences and cognitive experiences in cognitive informatics, neuropsychology, cognitive science, and brain science. The finding on the experiment's internal browsing mechanism of eyes reveals a crucial role of eyes interacting with the brain for accessing internal memory and the cognitive knowledge base in thinking, perception, attention, consciousness, learning, memorization, and inference.

scholarly journals Active interoceptive inference and the emotional brain

2016 ◽  
Vol 371 (1708) ◽  
pp. 20160007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anil K. Seth ◽  
Karl J. Friston
Keyword(s):  
Functional Anatomy ◽  
Generative Models ◽  
Predictive Processing ◽  
Clinical Neuroscience ◽  
Autonomic Reflexes ◽  
Embodied Self ◽  
Bodily States ◽  
Theoretical Issues ◽  
The Brain

We review a recent shift in conceptions of interoception and its relationship to hierarchical inference in the brain. The notion of interoceptive inference means that bodily states are regulated by autonomic reflexes that are enslaved by descending predictions from deep generative models of our internal and external milieu. This re-conceptualization illuminates several issues in cognitive and clinical neuroscience with implications for experiences of selfhood and emotion. We first contextualize interoception in terms of active (Bayesian) inference in the brain, highlighting its enactivist (embodied) aspects. We then consider the key role of uncertainty or precision and how this might translate into neuromodulation. We next examine the implications for understanding the functional anatomy of the emotional brain, surveying recent observations on agranular cortex. Finally, we turn to theoretical issues, namely, the role of interoception in shaping a sense of embodied self and feelings. We will draw links between physiological homoeostasis and allostasis, early cybernetic ideas of predictive control and hierarchical generative models in predictive processing. The explanatory scope of interoceptive inference ranges from explanations for autism and depression, through to consciousness. We offer a brief survey of these exciting developments. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Interoception beyond homeostasis: affect, cognition and mental health’.

THE ROLE OF VASCULAR MICROENVIRONMENT IN THE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF BRAIN TUMORS

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 570-577
Author(s):  
Aleksandr Dorosevich ◽  
N. Buzgan
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Brain Tumors ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Tumor Stem Cells ◽  
Intercellular Interactions ◽  
Resident Cell ◽  
The Brain

Processes of neovascularization are key for the growth and spread of tumor cells. This article describes unique patterns of angiogenesis, which are considered as specific exclusively for brain tumors. At present the role of specialized perivascular niches in the development of oncological processes of the brain acquires a growing importance in the eyes of researchers. Perivascular niches play a crucial role in intercellular interactions between resident cell lines in the development of the tumor process and are also a source of tumor stem cells.

SPARSE SPARTAN VERSE: FILLING GAPS IN THE THERMOPYLAE EPIGRAM

Ramus ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-133
Author(s):  
Ioannis Ziogas
Keyword(s):  
Crucial Role ◽  
Point Of View

In theApophthegmata Laconica, a collection of witty exchanges that highlight the shrewdness of Laconian brevity, we read the following story. An Argive once taunted a Spartan by pointing out the multitude of Spartan tombs in Argive territory. The Spartan retorted that, by contrast, not a single Argive tomb could be found in Sparta. The author of the Plutarchan tale comments that the Spartan insinuated that, while his people had repeatedly invaded Argos, the Argives had never set foot on Sparta (Mor.233c; cf.Vit. Ages.31.6). Besides attesting to the sharp wit of Laconian concision, the story is a good example of how easily a soldier's tomb can serve different national agendas. While the presence of Spartan dead in Argos is a source of pride for the Argives, from another point of view it can be read as a sign of Spartan military prowess. The Greek word σῆμα (‘tomb’) speaks for the crucial role of semiotics in interpreting the semantics of military monuments. The tomb is a sign that needs to be decoded; only more often than not there is more than one way of deciphering it.

Embodied “inter-practice” in organizations – the contribution of Merleau-Ponty to carnal organizational practices and studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 1449-1469
Author(s):  
Wendelin Küpers
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Lived Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relational Approach ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Phenomenological Point

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to develop a critical and extended understanding of practices in organizations from a phenomenological point of view. It explores the relevance of Merleau-Ponty's advanced phenomenology and ontology for understanding the role of the lived body and the embodiment of practices and change in organizational lifeworlds.Design/methodology/approachBased on the literature review and phenomenology, the role of embodied and relational dimension, the concept of an emergent and responsive “inter-practice” in organizations is developed systematically.FindingsBased on the phenomenological and relational approach, the concept of (inter-)practice allows an extended more integral and processual understanding of the role of bodily and embodied practices in organizational lifeworlds as emerging events. The concept of inter-practice(ing) contributes to conceiving of new ways of approaching how responsive and improvisational practicing, related to change, coevolves within a multidimensional nexus of organizations.Research limitations/implicationsSpecific theoretical and methodological implications for exploring and enacting relational practices as well as limitations are offered.Practical implicationsSome specific practical implications are provided that facilitate and enable embodied practices in organizational contexts.Social implicationsThe responsive inter-practice is seen as embedded in sociality and social interactions and links to sociocultural and political as well as ethical dimensions are discussed.Originality/valueBy extending the existing discourse and using an embodied approach, the paper proposes a novel orientation for reinterpreting practice that allows explorations of the emergence and realization of alternative, ingenious and more suitable forms of practicing and change in organizations.

Open Systems and Consciousness: A Physical Discussion

2002 ◽  
Vol 09 (04) ◽  
pp. 339-369
Author(s):  
Roman S. Ingarden
Keyword(s):  
Biological System ◽  
Open Systems ◽  
Human Person ◽  
Life Time ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Living Systems ◽  
Decoherence Time ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Cerebral Neocortex

Further discussion of the author's ideas, as well as their confrontation with similar and different concepts of consciousness, have been given in the Introduction. Then the physical and, in lesser degree, also mathematical aspects of open systems, in particular of human person, are sketched in Sec. 2. The quantum concept of the decoherence time is treated as a model for a finite life-time of any composed physical and biological system. In Sec. 3 the role of languages of many types in living and non-living systems is briefly considered, as well as the importance of modality for sentence predicates. In Sec. 4, the structure of the cerebral neocortex and its speech centers is briefly described from the point of view of the mechanism of thinking and the consciousness. The concepts of laterality and dominance (left or right hemispheres of the brain) and their dependence on the type of culture and education are shown on the example of the differences between the Japanese and Western perception of languages (discoveries of Liberman and Tsunoda). In Secs. 5 and 6 the experimental evidence for the connection of consciousness with the speech centers are presented and some questions are posed.

scholarly journals Role of Time Scales in the Coupled Epidemic-Opinion Dynamics on Multiplex Networks

Entropy ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Robert Jankowski ◽  
Anna Chmiel
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Model ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Opinion Dynamics ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Entire System ◽  
Epidemic Spreading ◽  
Multiplex Networks ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Opinion Dynamic

Modelling the epidemic’s spread on multiplex networks, considering complex human behaviours, has recently gained the attention of many scientists. In this work, we study the interplay between epidemic spreading and opinion dynamics on multiplex networks. An agent in the epidemic layer could remain in one of five distinct states, resulting in the SIRQD model. The agent’s attitude towards respecting the restrictions of the pandemic plays a crucial role in its prevalence. In our model, the agent’s point of view could be altered by either conformism mechanism, social pressure, or independent actions. As the underlying opinion model, we leverage the q-voter model. The entire system constitutes a coupled opinion–dynamic model where two distinct processes occur. The question arises of how to properly align these dynamics, i.e., whether they should possess equal or disparate timescales. This paper highlights the impact of different timescales of opinion dynamics on epidemic spreading, focusing on the time and the infection’s peak.

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