Bayesian Sensorimotor Psychology

Abstract

AbstractSensorimotor psychology studies the mental processes that control goal‐directed bodily motion. Recently, sensorimotor psychologists have provided empirically successful Bayesian models of motor control. These models describe how the motor system uses sensory input to select motor commands that promote goals set by high‐level cognition. I highlight the impressive explanatory benefits offered by Bayesian models of motor control. I argue that our current best models assign explanatory centrality to a robust notion of mental representation. I deploy my analysis to defend intentional realism, to rebut eliminativism and instrumentalism regarding mental representation, and to explore the relation between intentionality and normativity.