Research
Philosophic Minds pursues interdisciplinary research at the intersection of philosophy, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, linguistics, and computation. Our work combines conceptual analysis, computational approaches, and scientific evidence to better understand natural and artificial intelligence.
Current Research Programs
Predictive Processing & Active Inference
Investigating hierarchical predictive models of perception, cognition, and intelligent behavior, with particular emphasis on conceptual representation and higher cognition.
Artificial Intelligence & Computational Models
Exploring computational approaches to intelligence, reasoning, language, representation, and machine learning through collaboration between philosophy and computer science.
Philosophy of Mind & Language
Examining concepts such as mental representation, meaning, reasoning, and language from both philosophical and scientific perspectives.
Research Approach
Our research combines conceptual analysis, formal reasoning, computational modeling, and empirical findings from the cognitive and behavioral sciences. We seek to develop rigorous theoretical frameworks while remaining closely connected to advances in neuroscience, artificial intelligence, psychology, linguistics, and related disciplines.
Selected Papers
A selection of published and forthcoming work related to our current research programs.
A Metaphysics for Predictive Processing. Jakob Hohwy · Synthese · 2025. A philosophical examination of the metaphysical and epistemological commitments of predictive processing, including its relationship to Kantian idealism, naturalism, and Bayesian accounts of cognition.
Learning Action-Oriented Models Through Active Inference. Alexander Tschantz, Anil K. Seth, and Christopher L. Buckley · PLOS Computational Biology · 2020. Explores how active-inference agents can learn efficient internal models by balancing goal-directed behavior with information seeking, with implications for cognition and machine learning.
Canonical Neural Networks Perform Active Inference. Takuya Isomura, Hideaki Shimazaki, and Karl J. Friston · Communications Biology · 2022. Develops a formal connection between biologically plausible neural networks, Bayesian inference, learning, planning, and adaptive behavioral control..
Featured Book
The Self-Evidencing Agent
Mind, Existence, and Predictive Processing
Jakob Hohwy · MIT Press · 2026
A philosophical account of predictive processing that explores how agents maintain their existence by gathering evidence for their own models of the world. The book connects philosophy of mind, cognitive science, metaphysics, and the free energy principle.
Future Research
As Philosophic Minds grows, additional research programs, collaborations, publications, and interdisciplinary initiatives will be developed to address emerging questions about intelligence, cognition, language, and computation.