Minds as Recursive Simulations

From Functions to Minds: A Hierarchy of Complexity

To rigorously understand minds, we must first build upward from simpler concepts, refining our definitions step-by-step. Let's establish clear foundations:

1. Function:
A function deterministically maps inputs to outputs. Given the same input, it will always produce the same output. Functions are static mappings, free of side effects or evolving internal states.

2. Program:
A program encodes a process or algorithm that transforms input information into output information. Unlike simple functions, programs may maintain internal states, perform conditional logic, and produce side effects, allowing for complexity and dynamism.

3. Recursive Program:
A recursive program is a special type of program that invokes itself repeatedly. Each invocation uses output from previous steps as subsequent input, proceeding until a clearly defined termination condition is met. This iterative self-reference enables powerful computational expressiveness.

4. Simulation:
A simulation is a recursive program explicitly designed to model the state transitions of a dynamic system. Each iteration computes and updates the current state based on previous states, recursively feeding each newly computed state back into itself. This recursive loop mirrors real-world or conceptual systems, allowing precise and detailed exploration and prediction.

Minds as Recursive Simulations of Agency

Having carefully built from fundamental computational concepts, we can now approach the core philosophical and functional claim:

5. Mind:
A mind is an internal simulation recursively maintained by an agent. It models and anticipates the agent's interactions with its environment—and crucially, with itself—to guide decisions, predict outcomes, and select actions. Thus, a mind is not merely passive representation; it actively shapes and directs behavior. It is a self-referential predictive control system.

Biological Minds and Physical Substrate

Minds do not float freely in abstraction but are instantiated concretely:

6. Biological Mind:
A biological mind is a mind physically instantiated within the agent's own neural substrate—the brain. The brain provides both the computational architecture and the physical medium necessary for this recursive simulation. Biological minds operate through neural computation, continuously integrating sensory inputs, memories, predictive models, and motor outputs into an ongoing recursive loop.

Implications and Insights

Conceptualizing minds as recursive simulations offers substantial explanatory power:

• Agency and Predictive Modeling:
  Minds continuously predict future states based on prior experiences and present conditions. This allows agents to make strategic choices, actively shaping their interactions with the world.

• Self-Reference and Consciousness:
  The recursive nature of minds—simulating themselves and their interaction with the environment—naturally gives rise to complex self-awareness and introspective capabilities, foundational to consciousness.

• Computational Universality and Substrate Independence:
  Recognizing minds as simulations suggests potential substrate independence. While biological minds run on neural tissue, artificial minds could, in principle, run on computational substrates, extending agency and cognitive capability beyond biological constraints.

Conclusion

Minds, understood as recursive simulations instantiated in physical systems, represent one of the most sophisticated forms of computational processes known. By building systematically from simple computational definitions to complex philosophical understanding, we reveal deeper insights into the nature of agency, self-awareness, and cognitive complexity, opening profound implications for artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and philosophy of mind.