Search results for "Hypothesis and Theory"
showing 10 items of 30 documents
The Dialectics of Free Energy Minimization
2019
Karl Friston’s free energy minimization has been received with great enthusiasm. With good reason: it not only makes the bold claim to a unifying theory of the brain, but it is presented as an a priori principle applicable to living systems in general. In this article, we set out to show how the breadth of scope of Friston’s framework converges with the dialectics of Georg Hegel. Through an appeal to the work of Catherine Malabou, we aim to demonstrate how Friston not only reinvigorates Hegelian dialectics from the perspective of neuroscience, but that the implicit alignment with Hegel necessitates a reading of free energy minimization from the perspective of Hegel’s speculative philosophy.…
Automation Inner Speech as an Anthropomorphic Feature Affecting Human Trust: Current Issues and Future Directions
2021
This paper aims to discuss the possible role of inner speech in influencing trust in human–automation interaction. Inner speech is an everyday covert inner monolog or dialog with oneself, which is essential for human psychological life and functioning as it is linked to self-regulation and self-awareness. Recently, in the field of machine consciousness, computational models using different forms of robot speech have been developed that make it possible to implement inner speech in robots. As is discussed, robot inner speech could be a new feature affecting human trust by increasing robot transparency and anthropomorphism.
Empirical evidence for musical syntax processing? Computer simulations reveal the contribution of auditory short-term memory
2014
During the last decade, it has been argued that (1) music processing involves syntactic representations similar to those observed in language, and (2) that music and language share similar syntactic-like processes and neural resources. This claim is important for understanding the origin of music and language abilities and, furthermore, it has clinical implications. The Western musical system, however, is rooted in psychoacoustic properties of sound, and this is not the case for linguistic syntax. Accordingly, musical syntax processing could be parsimoniously understood as an emergent property of auditory memory rather than a property of abstract processing similar to linguistic processing.…
A New, Better BET: Rescuing and Revising Basic Emotion Theory
2018
Basic Emotion Theory, or BET, has dominated the affective sciences for decades (Ekman, 1972, 1992, 1999; Ekman and Davidson, 1994; Griffiths, 2013; Scarantino and Griffiths, 2011). It has been highly influential, driving a number of empirical lines of research (e.g., in the context of facial expression detection, neuroimaging studies and evolutionary psychology). Nevertheless, BET has been criticized by philosophers, leading to calls for it to be jettisoned entirely (Colombetti, 2014; Hufendiek, 2016). This paper defuses those criticisms. In addition, it shows that we have good reason to retain BET. Finally, it reviews and puts to rest worries that BET's commitment to affect programs render…
Good Old-Fashioned Artificial Consciousness and the Intermediate Level Fallacy
2018
Recently, there has been considerable interest and effort to the possibility to design and implement conscious robots, i.e., the chance that a robot may have subjective experiences. However, typical approaches as the global workspace, information integration, enaction, cognitive mechanisms, embodiment, i.e., the Good Old-Fashioned Artificial Consciousness, henceforth, GOFAC, share the same conceptual framework. In this paper, we discuss GOFAC's basic tenets and their implication for AI and Robotics. In particular, we point out the intermediate level fallacy as the central issue affecting GOFAC. Finally, we outline a possible alternative conceptual framework towards robot consciousness.
Refuting the challenges of the developmental shift of polarity of GABA actions: GABA more exciting than ever!
2012
International audience; During brain development, there is a progressive reduction of intracellular chloride associated with a shift in GABA polarity: GABA depolarizes and occasionally excites immature neurons, subsequently hyperpolarizing them at later stages of development. This sequence, which has been observed in a wide range of animal species, brain structures and preparations, is thought to play an important role in activity-dependent formation and modulation of functional circuits. This sequence has also been considerably reinforced recently with new data pointing to an evolutionary preserved rule. In a recent ``Hypothesis and Theory Article,'' the excitatory action of GABA in early …
Fast Photochemistry of Prototypical Phytochromes—A Species vs. Subunit Specific Comparison
2015
Phytochromes are multi-domain red light photosensor proteins, which convert red light photons to biological activity utilizing the multitude of structural and chemical reactions. The steady increase in structural information obtained from various bacteriophytochromes has increased understanding about the functional mechanism of the photochemical processes of the phytochromes. Furthermore, a number of spectroscopic studies have revealed kinetic information about the light-induced reactions. The spectroscopic changes are, however, challenging to connect with the structural changes of the chromophore and the protein environment, as the excited state properties of the chromophores are very sens…
Treatment of Traumatised Sexuality
2021
Based on therapeutic meetings with individuals who have experienced sexual violence and abuse, the challenge is how do we help these couples to establish sexual relationships on their own terms, without interference of defence or coping strategies they have used to protect themselves against the overwhelming experiences of violence or abuse in the past? This article will focus on therapeutic work with such couples and how to interact with them and support their efforts to establish satisfying sexual relationships, based on sexological experience as well as experience from work with traumatisation. The basis for our treatment is a modified version of William Masters and Virginia Johnson’s ap…
Sense-Making, Meaningfulness, and Instrumental Music Education
2020
The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the nature of "meaning" and "meaningfulness" in the context of instrumental music education. By doing so, I propose to expand the ways in which instrumental music educators conceive their mission and the ways in which we may instill meaning in people's lives. Traditionally, pursuits of philosophical deliberation have claimed that meaningfulness comes from either personal happiness (e.g., Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill) or an impersonal sense of duty (e.g., St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Immanuel Kant). However, philosopher Wolf (2010) criticizes these positions in favor of a broader perspective, one that arises from understanding that …
Identification of Partner Proteins of the Algae Klebsormidium nitens NO Synthases: Toward a Better Understanding of NO Signaling in Eukaryotic Photos…
2021
In animals, NO is synthesized from L-arginine by three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzyme. NO production and effects have also been reported in plants but the identification of its sources, especially the enzymatic ones, remains one of the critical issues in the field. NOS-like activities have been reported, although there are no homologs of mammalian NOS in the land plant genomes sequenced so far. However, several NOS homologs have been found in algal genomes and transcriptomes. A first study has characterized a functional NOS in the chlorophyte Ostreococcus tauri and the presence of NOS homologs was later confirmed in a dozen algae. These results raise the questions of the sig…