🐸 Frog’s Eye: Simple Vision, Complex Behavior Explained 🧠 How much perception does intelligent behavior require? A classic example from neuroscience and cognitive science illustrates this impressively: The frog's eye does not provide the brain with a detailed image of the world, but only very simple information—small, moving dark spots. That is exactly what is needed to shoot out the tongue at lightning speed and catch prey. This radically simplified view of the world is not a deficit, but an evolutionary advantage. The frog does not need a complete representation of reality, but only what is relevant for successful action. Daniel Dennett describes such mechanisms as “user illusions” – functional simplifications that control behavior. The crucial difference to humans? We do not have one such illusion, but many – layered, superimposed, and constantly under revision. Simple neural mechanisms thus give rise to complex behavior, thinking, and ultimately what we call consciousness. A fascinating insight into the question of how simple perception becomes complex cognition – and what that reveals about our own minds. 📽 Interview: https://youtu.be/M2qiVz95ZYk 📎 Information: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2023/12/25/naturalistic-view/
