?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=From+meaningful+information+to+representations%2C+enaction+and+cognition&rft.creator=Menant%2C+Christophe&rft.subject=Animal+Cognition&rft.subject=Epistemology&rft.subject=Evolution&rft.subject=Artificial+Intelligence&rft.description=The+notions+of+information%2C+representation+and+enaction+entertain+historical+and+complex+relations+with+cognition.+%0D%0AHistorical+relations+because+representational+structures+belong+to+the+central+hypothesis+of+cognitive+sciences.+%0D%0AComplex+relations+because+cognitive+sciences+apply+the+notion+of+representation+to+animals%2C+humans+and+robots%2C+and+also+because+the+enactive+approach+tends+to+disregard+the+GOFAI+type+of+representations.%0D%0AIn+this+wide+horizon+of+relations%2C+we+propose+to+look+at+a+systemic+approach+that+could+bring+up+a+common+denominator+for+information+and+representations+in+the+build+up+of+cognition%2C+and+also+keep+a+link+with+the+enactive+approach.+%0D%0AOur+purpose+is+to+show+that+systems+submitted+to+constraints+can+generate+meaningful+information+to+maintain+their+natures%2C+and+consequently+build+up+meaningful+representations+that+have+some+compatibility+with+the+enactive+approach.+Such+a+systemic+approach+to+the+notion+of+meaningful+information+could+then+make+available+a+link+between+enaction+and+meaningful+representations.%0D%0AThe+first+part+of+the+presentation+is+about+reminding+that+cognition+does+not+exist+per+se%2C+but+is+related+to+the+system+that+builds+it.+We+look+at+cognition+as+constituted+by+dynamic+meaningful+representations+built+up+by+systems+that+have+constraints+to+satisfy+in+their+environments.+Cognition+is+considered+here+at+the+level+of+the+system+that+builds+it+and+uses+it+in+order+to+maintain+its+nature+in+its+environment.+Such+a+systemic+approach+fits+with+evolution.+Organisms+build+representations+to+cope+with+survival+constraints+(frogs+build+representations+of+moving+black+dots+in+order+to+satisfy+food+constraints).+Humans+build+representations+and+cognition+to+satisfy+constraints+that+are+conscious+and+unconscious.+Artificial+systems+can+use+representations+and+cognition+to+run+activities+related+to+constraints+implemented+by+the+designers+or+coming+from+the+environment+(a+goal+to+reach+being+considered+as+a+constraint+to+satisfy).+%0D%0AIn+the+second+part+of+the+presentation+we+define+what+are+a+meaningful+information+and+a+representation+for+a+system+submitted+to+a+constraint+in+its+environment%2C+and+we+link+these+to+the+enactive+approach.+We+define+a+meaningful+information+(a+meaning)+as+an+information+generated+by+a+system+submitted+to+a+constraint+when+it+receives+an+external+information+that+has+a+connection+with+the+constraint.+The+meaning+is+precisely+that+connection.+The+meaning+belongs+to+the+interactions+that+link+the+system+to+its+environment.+The+function+of+the+meaning+is+to+participate+to+the+determination+of+an+action+that+will+be+implemented+in+order+to+satisfy+the+constraint.+(Menant%2C+2003).+The+satisfaction+of+the+constraint+goes+with+maintaining+the+nature+of+the+system+in+its+environment.+A+Meaning+Generator+System+(MGS)+is+defined+correspondingly.+It+is+a+building+block+for+higher+level+systems.+We+present+some+characteristics+of+the+MGS+(groundings+of+a+meaning%2C+domain+of+efficiency+and+transfer+of+meanings%2C+networking+of+meanings%2C+evolutionary+usage).+The+MGS+approach+is+close+to+a+simplified+version+of+the+Peircean+triadic+theory+of+signs+(Menant%2C+2003%2C+2005+).%0D%0AWe+define+the+representation+of+an+item+for+a+system+as+being+the+dynamic+set+of+meaningful+information+corresponding+to+the+item+for+the+system+in+its+environments+(an+elementary+representation+being+made+of+a+single+meaningful+information).+These+representations+link+the+system+to+its+environment+by+their+meaningful+components+related+to+the+nature+of+the+system.+These+representations+are+different+from+the+GOFAI+ones.%0D%0AThe+possibilities+for+linking+these+notions+of+meaning+and+representation+with+the+enactive+approach+come+from+the+structure+of+the+MGS%3A+the+need+for+an+action+is+the+cause+of+the+meaning+generation+by+and+for+the+system.+The+action+on+the+environment+is+for+the+system+to+maintain+its+nature+(its+identity).+The+MGS+links+together+the+generation+of+meaningful+representations%2C+the+nature+of+the+system%2C+and+the+interactions+with+the+environment.+This+can+be+considered+as+close+to+enacting+a+world+by+meaning+generation+(Di+Paolo+and+all+2007)%2C+and+to+the+enactive+concept+of+sense+making+(De+Jaegher%2C+Di+Paolo+2007).+%0D%0AWe+propose+that+basing+the+definition+of+a+representation+on+the+notion+of+meaningful+information+generated+by+a+system+submitted+to+a+constraint+can+open+a+way+for+making+the+notion+of+representation+compatible+with+the+enactive+approach.%0D%0AIn+the+third+part+of+the+presentation%2C+we+consider+some+cases+of+meaningful+information+and+representations+for+organisms+and+for+robots.+Regarding+organisms%2C+the+MGS+can+be+used+in+an+evolutionary+context+by+looking+at+the+evolution+of+the+systems+and+of+the+constraints.+Purpose+is+to+modelize+the+generation+of+meanings+and+of+representations+in+order+to+make+available+a+tool+usable+for+different+levels+of+evolution%2C+as+evolution+has+a+place+in+cognitive+sciences+(Proust%2C+2007).+Constraints+for+basic+life+are+survival+constraints+(individual+and+species).+Group+life+constraints+are+also+to+be+considered.+Reaching+the+level+of+humans+in+evolution+brings+in+new+constraints+that+cannot+be+clearly+identified+as+they+have+to+take+into+account+human+consciousness+which+is+today+a+mystery+(the+%E2%80%9Chard+problem%E2%80%9D).+On+an+evolutionary+standpoint%2C+human+constraints+come+in+addition+to+the+ones+existing+for+non+human+organisms.+We+can+make+some+hypothesis+on+the+nature+of+human+constraints+(Maslow+pyramid+based+constraints%2C+anxiety+limitation%E2%80%A6).+For+robots%2C+the+MGS+is+initially+based+on+the+design+of+the+robot.+The+meaning+generated+within+a+robot+is+initially+derived+from+the+constraints+implemented+by+the+designer+and+from+the+environment.+But+some+non+calculable+or+non+predictable+evolutions+of+the+robot+can+introduce+meanings+that+look+proper+to+the+robot.+This+last+point+can+be+linked+to+the+notion+of+autonomy+in+robots.+In+such+examples%2C+the+dynamic+management+of+meanings+thru+the+MGSs+in+their+environments+keeps+the+link+with+the+enactive+approach.+%0D%0AWe+finish+the+presentation+by+summarising+the+points+addressed+and+by+proposing+several+continuations.+%0D%0A%0D%0A&rft.date=2008-06&rft.type=Conference+Paper&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6108%2F1%2FECAP_08_C.Menant_20080619144031.pdf&rft.identifier=++Menant%2C+Christophe++(2008)+From+meaningful+information+to+representations%2C+enaction+and+cognition.++%5BConference+Paper%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6108%2F