Complex Systems Approaches to Emergent Goal Formation in Cognitive Agents

The mechanisms involved in goal formation, selection and prioritization have received little attention when compared with other cognitive processes. It can be argued that the fundamental properties of intelligent actions in are in the service of goals. Goal mechanisms play a fundamental role in intentional behavior, but how people manage multiple conflicting needs remains obscure. In this paper we discuss insights that complex systems theories bring to understanding emergent properties of goal mechanisms in biological organisms. We will look at some new ideas that replicate and explain biological organism's goal formation and management mechanisms, and we explore some of the possible neural correlates of the dynamics of such mechanisms.