Fitness-Beats-Truth: Evolution, Perception, and Cognitive Interfaces

Erscheinungsjahr 2027
ISBN: 978-3-032-46488-0
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 67 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm

Reihe: SpringerBriefs in Philosophy

This Brief offers a concise and accessible examination of the Fitness-Beats-Truth (FBT) theorem, a pivotal result in evolutionary game theory that challenges traditional assumptions about perception. It demonstrates that natural selection likely favors cognitive systems designed for fitness over truth, suggesting our perceptual experiences are more akin to a simplified user interface than an accurate reconstruction of reality. This perspective, however, raises profound philosophical questions.

Although the FBT theorem has significant potential to impact epistemological debates, its proof has remained difficult for non-specialists to access, and its conceptual challenges have been underexplored. This book bridges that gap by presenting the theorem’s core ideas accessibly while systematically examining key objections and paths for future development. This text bridges formal modeling, cognitive science, and philosophy, offering a clear exposition of the theorem's proofs and a thorough analysis of its conceptual underpinnings and criticisms. It is primarily targeted at researchers and advanced students in cognitive psychology, philosophy of mind, and theoretical biology seeking to understand the evolutionary forces that shape cognitive architecture. It is also aimed at professionals from AI research who are interested in an evolution-based approach to cognitive computing.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Prentner, Robert

Westerhoff, Jan

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Angewandte Informatik Bioinformatik
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Evolutionsbiologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Kognitionspsychologie
• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Informatik Künstliche Intelligenz
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Moderne Philosophische Disziplinen Philosophie des Geistes, Neurophilosophie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Angewandte Biologie Bioinformatik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction.- The fitness-beats-truth (FBT) theorem.- Further ideas.- Initial objections.- The notion of veridicality.- Veridical representation in the interface?.- The problem of self-refutation.- Concluding remarks.

Über Autor(innen)

Robert Prentner is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Humanities at ShanghaiTech University, where he investigates the intersection of science, technology, and philosophy. He has collaborated extensively on the formal development of the Fitness-Beats-Truth (FBT) theorem and the Interface Theory of Perception with Donald Hoffman. His work focuses on the implications of mathematical models for our understanding of perception and consciousness.

Jan Westerhoff is Professor of Buddhist Philosophy at the University of Oxford. His work spans Indian philosophy and contemporary analytic metaphysics and epistemology. He has a strong interest in the philosophical implications of modern cognitive science, explored in publications such as "What it means to live in a virtual world generated by our brain" (Journal Erkenntnis) and his book (OUP, 2020), which discusses problems arising in connection with the FBT theorem.