this blog will be the place were i discuss ideas about my scientific interests. I do not have a fixed set of interests, but they typically lean towards ideas coming from complex systems science and cognitive science.
I take a systems perspective on cognition, by looking at a cognitive system as an intersection of structure and function. I look downwards at a cognitive system's structure, made up of interconnected components (appendages, joints, muscles, nervous systems, etc), which interact to produce behavior on the level of the system as a whole. I look upwards, to the cognitive system's function, which is its relations within its relevant environment. It is through navigating these relations that the organism is able to find resources, avoid noxiants, and thrive.
Cognitive systems are dissipative systems; they exist far from thermal equilibrium and through nonlinear processes, self-organization increases their internal order. Another word I use often is "autopoiesis," which means "self-making." Through a constant flux of matter and energy, the cycle of self-making arranges materials into informational patterns in such a way that the process is continually realized (Fritjof Capra, 1996). Cognitive systems organize themselves by searching for required resources in the environment and using them to maintain the state of nonequilibrium essential for sustaining their structure.
The field of enactive cognition studies cognitive systems as living systems that are autonomous an adaptive (Evan Thompson 2010). Autonomy comes from autopoiesis, and the ability to make themselves by themselves. Adaptivity entails that cognitive systems maintain viability constraints within a set range in the face of unpredictable environmental perturbations. So, not only can cognitive systems maintain themselves by avoiding dangers, and finding resources to fuel the autopoietic cycle, but they can also change their behavior to match environmental changes.
This is a fascinating and relatively recent theoretical perspective in cognitive science. There are many ideas that are coming together to build up the field, but there is no coherent overarching theory yet. I will use this blog to write about ideas in this framework that I find interesting and relevant to future research.
