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Cited by 105Embodied and Extended CognitionPhilosophy and Theoretical SciencePhenomenology and Existential Philosophy

The first prior: From co-embodiment to co-homeostasis in early life

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Ciaunica, Anna, Constant, Axel, Preissl, Hubert, Fotopoulou, Katerina·2021·Consciousness and Cognition
DOI 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103117PMC PMC7612030
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Abstract

The idea that our perceptions in the here and now are influenced by prior events and experiences has recently received substantial support and attention from the proponents of the Predictive Processing (PP) and Active Inference framework in philosophy and computational neuroscience. In this paper we look at how perceptual experiences get off the ground from the outset, in utero. One basic yet overlooked aspect of current PP approaches is that human organisms first develop within another human body. Crucially, while not all humans will have the experience of being pregnant or carrying a baby, the experience of being carried and growing within another person's body is universal. Specifically, we focus on the development of minimal selfhood in utero as a process co-embodiment and co-homeostasis, and highlight their close relationship. We conclude with some implications on several critical questions fuelling current debates on the nature of conscious experiences, minimal self and social cognition.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103117

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  • Sensory feedback, minimal knowledge and competences constructed as results of the foetus's own activities allow the infant to be born with strong expectations about being the cause of changes in its own sensory inputs and in the environment.

    “Sensory feedback, minimal knowledge and competences constructed as results of the foetus’ own activities allow the infant to be born with strong expectations about being the cause of changes in its own sensory inputs and in the environment.”

    From Active inference goes to school: the importance of active learning in the age of large language models (2024) · cites this paper as [40]

    In “Back to square one: the emerging self within an other’s body” (page unavailable), the paper describes foetal movements producing sensory feedback and developing anticipatory sensorimotor capacities. But “From Co-Embodiment to Co-Homeostasis” (page unavailable) calls foetal self- and world-models an open question, so the claim that infants are born with *strong* expectations of causing changes in sensory input and the environment overstates the source. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • In AIF terms, development, learning, cognition, skills and understanding are all results of the same process of epistemic foraging, precision weighting and prediction error that an AIF agent starts as a foetus in the womb.

    “In AIF terms, development (i.e. the construction of cognitive competences in relation to the physical and biological growth of the body) and learning (i.e. the refinement of cognitive competences and the acquisition of knowledge), cognition, skills and understanding are all result of the same process of epistemic foraging, precision weighting and prediction error”

    From Active inference goes to school: the importance of active learning in the age of large language models (2024) · cites this paper as [40]

    The Introduction says basic perception and action emerge in utero, and ‘Modelling the self through an other’ describes updating predictions through perceptual and active inference, including prediction error in homeostatic regulation (page numbers unavailable). The paper does not establish that development, learning, cognition, skills and understanding all result from one process comprising epistemic foraging, precision weighting and prediction error. In ‘From Co-Embodiment to Co-Homeostasis,’ it treats foetal self- and world-modelling as an open question and its emergence after about 20 weeks as speculative. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 8

  1. Allen M Tsakiris M The body as first prior: Interoceptive predictive processing and the primacy The Interoceptive Mind: From Homeostasis to Awareness First Edition Oxford University Press 2019 27 45
  2. Ciaunica A Basic Forms of Pre-reflective Self-Consciousness: a Developmental Perspective Miguens S Preyer G Morando C Pre-reflective Self-Consciousness: Sartre and Contemporary Philosophy of Mind Routledge London 2016 422 438
  3. Chemero A Radical Embodied Cognition MIT Press Cambridge, MA 2009
  4. Field T Touch The MIT Press Boston 2001
  5. Merleau-Ponty M Phenomenology of Perception Routledge London 1945/2012
  6. Newen A de Bruin L Gallagher S The Oxford Handbook of 4E Cognition Oxford University Press Oxford 2018
  7. Piontelli A From fetus to child Routledge London 1992
  8. Piontelli A Development of Normal Fetal Movements: The Last 15 Weeks of Gestation Springer Berlin 2015

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Authors
Ciaunica, A., Constant, A., Preissl, H., & Fotopoulou, K.
Affiliations
  • Universidade do Porto (PT)
  • The University of Sydney (AU)
  • Universitätsklinikum Tübingen (DE)
Corresponding author
Ciaunica, Anna
ORCID
Venue
Consciousness and Cognition
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-05
Volume
91
Pages
103117
ISSN
1053-8100 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.concog.2021.103117
PMC
PMC7612030
OpenAlex
W3156451243
Cited by
105
References
125
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 14
FWCI
9.21
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Consciousness and Cognition (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (PTDC/FER-FIL/4802/2020, SFRH/BPD/94566/2013 /)
  • Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (01GI0925)
  • Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
  • European Research Council (2018-COG-818070)
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (752-2019-0065)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Embodied and Extended Cognition
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy
Keywords
prenatal development, minimal self, predictive processing, active inference, subjective experience, social cognition, early life, embodied perception
MeSH terms
Consciousness, Homeostasis, Humans, Philosophy

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