The Problem

This chapter reviews how empiricist philosophy shaped the dominant outside-in thinking in neuroscience that gave rise to the perception-decision-action framework. In contrast, the inside-out framework takes action as the primary source of knowledge. Action validates the meaning and significance of sensory signals by providing a second opinion. The chapter also compares the relationship between “blank slate” and preconfigured brain models. It describes the brain as a sort of “dictionary” with preexisting internal dynamics and syntactical rules, filled initially with nonsense neuronal words. These nonsense words acquire significance for the animal through exploratory action and represent a distinct event or situation. Preconfigured neuronal networks can generalize and provides fast and “good-enough” solutions under many situations, while detailed and precise computation mobilizes a large fraction of brain resources.