From meaningful information to representations, enaction and cognition (ECAP08 2008)

The notions of information, representation and enaction entertain complex relations with cognition. We propose to show how a systemic approach on meaning generation can provide a base for the build up of representations which could be compatible with the enactive approach. We consider cognition as constituted of representations built up by systems that have constraints to satisfy in a dynamic environment (Honey bees build cognitive maps to satisfy survival constraints, humans build representations and cognition to satisfy conscious and unconscious constraints. Robots use representations to run activities related to constraints satisfactions). We define a meaningful information (a meaning) as generated by a system submitted to a constraint when it receives an external information that has a connection with the constraint. The meaning is that connection. Its function is to participate to the determination of an action that will be implemented in order to satisfy the constraint. (Menant, 2003). The constraint satisfaction is directly related to the nature of the system, to its identity. A Meaning Generator System (MGS) is correspondingly introduced. We define the representation of an item for a system as being the set of meaningful information corresponding to the item for the system in its environments. Such representations are far from the GOFAI ones. The linking of meanings and representations with the enactive approach comes from the structure of the MGS. The need for an action is the cause of the meaning generation by and for the system in its environment. This is close to enacting a world by meaning generation (Di Paolo & all 2007). We present cases of meaningful information and representations for organisms and robots, using the MGS in an evolutionary approach for organisms. We finish by summarising the points addressed and by proposing several continuations. * Di Paolo, E., Rohde, M., De Jaegher, H., 2007 “Horizons for the Enactive Mind: Values, Social Interaction, and Play”. To appear in Enaction: Towards a New Paradigm for Cognitive Science, J. Stewart, O. Gapenne, and E. A. Di Paolo (Eds), Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, forthcoming * Menant, C. 2003. "Information and Meaning" Entropy 2003, 5, 193-20