?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Cognition+as+management+of+meaningful+information.+Proposal+for+an+evolutionary+approach.+&rft.creator=Menant%2C+Mr+Christophe&rft.subject=Animal+Cognition&rft.subject=Evolution&rft.subject=Primatology&rft.subject=Artificial+Intelligence&rft.subject=Evolutionary+Psychology&rft.subject=Epistemology&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Mind&rft.description=Humans+are+cognitive+entities.+Our+behaviors+and+ongoing+interactions+with+the+environment+are%0D%0Athreaded+with+creations+and+usages+of+meaningful+information%2C+be+they+conscious+or+unconscious.%0D%0AAnimal+life+is+also+populated+with+meaningful+information+related+to+the+survival+of+the+individual%0D%0Aand+of+the+species.+The+meaningfulness+of+information+managed+by+artificial+agents+can+also+be%0D%0Aconsidered+as+a+reality+once+we+accept+that+the+meanings+managed+by+an+artificial+agent+are%0D%0Aderived+from+what+we%2C+the+cognitive+designers%2C+have+built+the+agent+for.%0D%0AThis+rapid+overview+brings+to+consider+that+cognition%2C+in+terms+of+management+of+meaningful%0D%0Ainformation%2C+can+be+looked+at+as+a+reality+for+animal%2C+humans+and+robots.+But+it+is+pretty+clear%0D%0Athat+the+corresponding+meanings+will+be+very+different+in+nature+and+content.+Free+will+and+selfconsciousness%0D%0Aare+key+drivers+in+the+management+of+human+meanings%2C+but+they+do+not+exist+for%0D%0Aanimals+or+robots.+Also%2C+staying+alive+is+a+constraint+that+we+share+with+animals.+Robots+do+not%0D%0Acarry+that+constraint.%0D%0ASuch+differences+in+meaningful+information+and+cognition+for+animal%2C+humans+and+robots+could%0D%0Abring+us+to+believe+that+the+analysis+of+cognitions+for+these+three+types+of+agents+has+to+be+done%0D%0Aseparately.+But+if+we+agree+that+humans+are+the+result+of+the+evolution+of+life+and+that+robots+are+a%0D%0Aproduct+of+human+activities%2C+we+can+then+look+at+addressing+the+possibility+for+an+evolutionary%0D%0Aapproach+at+cognition+based+on+meaningful+information+management.+A+bottom-up+path+would%0D%0Abegin+by+meaning+management+within+basic+living+entities%2C+then+climb+up+the+ladder+of+evolution%0D%0Aup+to+us+humans%2C+and+continue+with+artificial+agents.%0D%0AThis+is+what+we+propose+to+present+here%3A+address+an+evolutionary+approach+for+cognition%2C+based%0D%0Aon+meaning+management+using+a+simple+systemic+tool.%0D%0AWe+use+for+that+an+existing+systemic+approach+on+meaning+generation+where+a+system+submitted%0D%0Ato+a+constraint+generates+a+meaningful+information+(a+meaning)+that+will+initiate+an+action+in+order%0D%0Ato+satisfy+the+constraint+%5B1%2C2%5D.+The+action+can+be+physical%2C+mental+or+other.%0D%0AThis+systemic+approach+defines+a+Meaning+Generator+System+(MGS).+The+simplicity+of+the+MGS%0D%0Amakes+it+available+as+a+building+block+for+meaning+management+in+animals%2C+humans+and+robots.%0D%0AContrary+to+approaches+on+meaning+generation+in+psychology+or+linguistics%2C+the+MGS+approach+is%0D%0Anot+based+on+human+mind.+To+avoid+circularity%2C+an+evolutionary+approach+has+to+be+careful+not+to%0D%0Ainclude+components+of+human+mind+in+the+starting+point.%0D%0AThe+MGS+receives+information+from+its+environment+and+compares+it+with+its+constraint.+The%0D%0Agenerated+meaning+is+the+connection+existing+between+the+received+information+and+the%0D%0Aconstraint.+The+generated+meaning+is+to+trigger+an+action+aimed+at+satisfying+the+constraint.+The%0D%0Aaction+will+modify+the+environment%2C+and+so+the+generated+meaning.+Meaning+generation+links%0D%0Aagents+to+their+environments+in+a+dynamic+mode.+The+MGS+approach+is+triadic%2C+Peircean+type.%0D%0AThe+systemic+approach+allows+wide+usage+of+the+MGS%3A+a+system+is+a+set+of+elements+linked+by+a%0D%0Aset+of+relations.+Any+system+submitted+to+a+constraint+and+capable+of+receiving+information+from%0D%0Aits+environment+can+lead+to+a+MGS.+Meaning+generation+can+be+applied+to+many+cases%2C+assuming%0D%0Awe+identify+clearly+enough+the+systems+and+the+constraints.+Animals%2C+humans+and+robots+are+then%0D%0Aagents+containing+MGSs.+Similar+MGSs+carrying+different+constraints+will+generate+different%0D%0Ameanings.+Cognition+is+system+dependent.%0D%0AWe+first+apply+the+MGS+approach+to+animals+with+%E2%80%9Cstay+alive%E2%80%9D+and+%E2%80%9Cgroup+life%E2%80%9D+constraints.+Such%0D%0Aconstraints+can+bring+to+model+many+cases+of+meaning+generation+and+actions+in+the+organic%0D%0Aworld.+However%2C+it+is+to+be+highlighted+that+even+if+the+functions+and+characteristics+of+life+are+well%0D%0Aknown%2C+the+nature+of+life+is+not+really+understood.+Final+causes+are+difficult+to+integrate+in+our%0D%0Atoday+science.+So+analyzing+meaning+and+cognition+in+living+entities+will+have+to+take+into+account%0D%0Aour+limited+understanding+about+the+nature+of+life.+Ongoing+research+on+concepts+like+autopoiesis%0D%0Acould+bring+a+better+understanding+about+the+nature+of+life+%5B3%5D.%0D%0AWe+next+address+meaning+generation+for+humans.+The+case+is+the+most+difficult+as+the+nature+of%0D%0Ahuman+mind+is+a+mystery+for+today+science+and+philosophy.+The+natures+of+our+feelings%2C+free+will%0D%0Aor+self-consciousness+are+unknown.+Human+constraints%2C+meanings+and+cognition+are+difficult+to%0D%0Adefine.+Any+usage+of+the+MGS+approach+for+humans+will+have+to+take+into+account+the+limitations%0D%0Athat+result+from+the+unknown+nature+of+human+mind.%0D%0AWe+will+however+present+some+possible+approaches+to+identify+human+constraints+where+the+MGS%0D%0Abrings+some+openings+in+an+evolutionary+approach+%5B4%2C+5%5D.+But+it+is+clear+that+the+better+human%0D%0Amind+will+be+understood%2C+the+more+we+will+be+in+a+position+to+address+meaning+management+and%0D%0Acognition+for+humans.+Ongoing+research+activities+relative+to+the+nature+of+human+mind+cover%0D%0Amany+scientific+and+philosophical+domains+%5B6%5D.%0D%0AThe+case+of+meaning+management+and+cognition+in+artificial+agents+is+rather+straightforward+with%0D%0Athe+MGS+approach+as+we%2C+the+designers%2C+know+the+agents+and+the+constraints.+In+addition%2C+our%0D%0Aevolutionary+approach+brings+to+position+notions+like+artificial+constraints%2C+meaning+and+autonomy%0D%0Aas+derived+from+their+animal+or+human+source.%0D%0AWe+next+highlight+that+cognition+as+management+of+meaningful+information+by+agents+goes%0D%0Abeyond+information+and+needs+to+address+representations+which+belong+to+the+central+hypothesis%0D%0Aof+cognitive+sciences.%0D%0AWe+define+the+meaningful+representation+of+an+item+for+an+agent+as+being+the+networks+of%0D%0Ameanings+relative+to+the+item+for+the+agent%2C+with+the+action+scenarios+involving+the+item.%0D%0ASuch+meaningful+representations+embed+the+agents+in+their+environments+and+are+far+from+the%0D%0AGOFAI+type+ones+%5B4%5D.+Meanings%2C+representations+and+cognition+exist+by+and+for+the+agents.%0D%0AWe+finish+by+summarizing+the+points+presented+and+highlight+some+possible+continuations.%0D%0A%5B1%5D+C.+Menant+%22Information+and+Meaning%22+http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F3694%2F%0D%0A%5B2%5D+C.+Menant+%E2%80%9CIntroduction+to+a+Systemic+Theory+of+Meaning%E2%80%9D+(short+paper)%0D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fcrmenant.free.fr%2FResUK%2FMGS.pdf%0D%0A%5B3%5D+A.+Weber+and+F.+Varela+%E2%80%9CLife+after+Kant%3A+Natural+purposes+and+the+autopoietic+foundations+of%0D%0Abiological+individuality%E2%80%9D.+Phenomenology+and+the+Cognitive+Sciences+1%3A+97%E2%80%93125%2C+2002.%0D%0A%5B4%5D+C.+Menant+%22Computation+on+Information%2C+Meaning+and+Representations.+An+Evolutionary%0D%0AApproach%22+http%3A%2F%2Fwww.idt.mdh.se%2FECAP-2005%2FINFOCOMPBOOK%2FCHAPTERS%2F10-Menant.pdf%0D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fcrmenant.free.fr%2F2009BookChapter%2FC.Menant.211009%0D%0A%5B5%5D+C.+Menant+%22Proposal+for+a+shared+evolutionary+nature+of+language+and+consciousness%22%0D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F7067%2F%0D%0A%5B6%5D+Philpapers+%E2%80%9Cphilosophy+of+mind%E2%80%9D+http%3A%2F%2Fphilpapers.org%2Fbrowse%2Fphilosophy-of-mind&rft.date=2011-07&rft.type=Conference+Paper&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=other&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F7584%2F2%2FC.Menant-Presentation.pdf&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F7584%2F5%2FC.Menant-IACAP2011-Presentation.pdf&rft.identifier=++Menant%2C+Mr+Christophe++(2011)+Cognition+as+management+of+meaningful+information.+Proposal+for+an+evolutionary+approach.++%5BConference+Paper%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F7584%2F