Bayesian modeling of the mind: From norms to neurons

Bayesian decision theory is a mathematical framework that models reasoning and decision-making under uncertain conditions. The past few decades have witnessed an explosion of Bayesian modeling within cognitive science. Bayesian models are explanatorily successful for an array of psychological domains. This article gives an opinionated survey of foundational issues raised by Bayesian cognitive science, focusing primarily on Bayesian modeling of perception and motor control. Issues discussed include the normative basis of Bayesian decision theory; explanatory achievements of Bayesian cognitive science; intractability of Bayesian computation; realist versus instrumentalist interpretation of Bayesian models; and neural implementation of Bayesian inference. This article is categorized under: Philosophy > Foundations of Cognitive Science.