Abstract
Purpose:
Constructivism postulates that the perceived reality is a complex
construct formed during development. Depending on the particular
school, these inner constructs take on different forms and structures
and affect cognition in different ways. The purpose of this article
is to address the questions of how and, even more importantly, why
we form such inner constructs.
Approach:
This article proposes that brain development is controlled by an inherent
anticipatory drive, which biases learning towards the formation of
forward predictive structures and inverse goal-oriented control structures.
This drive, in combination with increasingly complex environmental
interactions during cognitive development, enforces the structuring
of our conscious self, which is embedded in a constructed inner reality.
Essentially, the following questions are addressed: Which basic mechanisms
lead us to the construction of inner realities? How are these emergent
inner realities structured? How is the self represented within the
inner realities? And consequently, which cognitive structures constitute
the media for conscious thought and selfconsciousness?
Findings:
Due to the anticipatory drive, representations in the brain shape
themselves predominantly purposefully or intentionally. Taking a
developmental, evolutionary perspective, we show how the brain is
forced to develop progressively complex and abstract representations
of the self embedded in the constructed inner realities. These self
representations can evoke different stages of self-consciousness.
Implications:
The anticipatory drive shapes brain structures and cognition during
the development of progressively more complex, competent, and flexible
goal-oriented bodyenvironment interactions. Self-consciousness develops
because increasingly abstract, individualizing self representations
are necessary to realize these progressively more challenging environmental
interactions.
Key words:
Anticipatory drive, self consciousness, mirror neurons, sensorimotor
bodyspaces, language, social cognition.
Description
diverse cognitive systems bib
Links and resources
Tags
community