Hesp, C;
Ramstead, M;
Constant, A;
Badcock, P;
Kirchhoff, M;
Friston, K;
(2019)
A multi-scale view of the emergent complexity of life: A free-energy proposal.
In: Georgiev, GY and Ramstead, M and Smart, JM and Martinez, CLF and Price, ME, (eds.)
Evolution, Development and Complexity Multiscale Evolutionary Models of Complex Adaptive Systems.
(pp. pp. 195-227).
Springer: Cham, Switzerland.
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Abstract
We review some of the main implications of the free-energy principle (FEP) for the study of the self-organization of living systems – and how the FEP can help us to understand (and model) biotic self-organization across the many temporal and spatial scales over which life exists. In order to maintain its integrity as a bounded system, any biological system – from single cells to complex organisms and societies – has to limit the disorder or dispersion (i.e., the long-run entropy) of its constituent states. We review how this can be achieved by living systems that minimize their variational free energy. Variational free energy is an information-theoretic construct, originally introduced into theoretical neuroscience and biology to explain perception, action, and learning. It has since been extended to explain the evolution, development, form, and function of entire organisms, providing a principled model of biotic self-organization and autopoiesis. It has provided insights into biological systems across spatiotemporal scales, ranging from microscales (e.g., sub- and multicellular dynamics), to intermediate scales (e.g., groups of interacting animals and culture), through to macroscale phenomena (the evolution of entire species). A crucial corollary of the FEP is that an organism just is (i.e., embodies or entails) an implicit model of its environment. As such, organisms come to embody causal relationships of their ecological niche, which, in turn, is influenced by their resulting behaviors. Crucially, free-energy minimization can be shown to be equivalent to the maximization of Bayesian model evidence. This allows us to cast evolution (i.e., natural selection) in terms of Bayesian model selection, providing a robust theoretical account of how organisms come to match or accommodate the spatiotemporal complexity of their surrounding niche. In line with the theme of this volume, namely, biological complexity and self-organization, this chapter will examine a variational approach to self-organization across multiple dynamical scales.
| Type: | Proceedings paper |
|---|---|
| Title: | A multi-scale view of the emergent complexity of life: A free-energy proposal |
| ISBN-13: | 978-3-030-00074-5 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1007/978-3-030-00075-2_7 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00075-2_7 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Free-energy principle; Active inference; Self-organization; Markov blanket; Niche Construction; Variational neuroethology |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Imaging Neuroscience |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10085950 |
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