THE AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS LABORATORY

Figure 1: The cognitive relations of a system with an object are mediated by a model
of the object.

Proposing some cognitive principles up to the level of consciousness will be the
objective of this paper. Let’s start with a first one on the nature of cognition:

Principle 1: Model-based cognition — A system is said to be cognitive if
it exploits models of other systems in their interaction with them.

This principle in practice equates knowlegde with models, bypassing the prob-
lems derived from the conventional epistemological interpretation of knowledge as
justified true belief Gettier (1963) and embracing a Dretskean interpretation where
justification and truth are precisely defined in terms of a strict modeling relation
Rosen (1985)². Obviously, this principle takes us to the broadly debated interpre-
tation of cognition as centered around representation, but with a tint; that of the
predictive and postdictive capabilities derived from the execution of such a model.

In what follows, just to avoid confusion, we will try to reserve the use of the
term system for the cognitive system (unless splicitly stated otherwise) and use the
term object for the system that the cognitive system interacts with (even when in
some cases this one may be also cognitive).

Obviously, that the mind uses models is not a new theory. The model-based
theory of mind can be traced back in many disciplines and the topic of mental
models have been a classic approach to the study of mind Craik (1943); Gentner
and Stevens (1983) but this has just had an aura of methaphorical argumentation
Johnson (1987) because of the lack of formalisation of the concept of model and

²The truth of a piece of information included into a model is not just its fitness into the model —e.g.
a perspective held by social constructivists— but the in terms of the establishment of isomorphims
between the model and the modelled.

ASLab.org / Principles for Consciousness / A-2007-011 v 1.0 Final

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