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Recurrent, nonequilibrium systems and the Markov blanket assumption

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 September 2022

Miguel Aguilera Open the ORCID record for Miguel Aguilera [Opens in a new window]  and
Christopher L. Buckley
Miguel Aguilera
Affiliation:
School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK sci@maguilera.net https://maguilera.net/ C.L.Buckley@sussex.ac.uk https://christopherlbuckley.com/
Christopher L. Buckley
Affiliation:
School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK sci@maguilera.net https://maguilera.net/ C.L.Buckley@sussex.ac.uk https://christopherlbuckley.com/
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Abstract

Markov blankets – statistical independences between system and environment – have become popular to describe the boundaries of living systems under Bayesian views of cognition. The intuition behind Markov blankets originates from considering acyclic, atemporal networks. In contrast, living systems display recurrent, nonequilibrium interactions that generate pervasive couplings between system and environment, making Markov blankets highly unusual and restricted to particular cases.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e184
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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